Chapter 285 He Can't Go All Out
"Ooooooohhhhh!!!"
Logan swings his sword rapidly.
As he swings, his energy rises. His ability to control his aura is pushed beyond normal levels──until he reaches a state close to when he fought Aaron at the [Temple].
"What is this──!?"
"Zaaaaaaahhh!!!"
The power of each strike increases.
The density of the [Dragon Slash] surrounding his sword grows, and the layered barrier created by the Chronosphere shatters with each hit.
Some of the black aura that rebounded off the barrier bursts out like lightning at the moment of impact, creating a thunderous sound.
Realizing that the number of his attacks is gradually decreasing, Chronosphere thinks.
(Could it be that his strength is this high...? Lucia and the others' [Space Control] interference is annoying. At this rate, my chances are looking bad...)
He is slowly being pushed into a defensive position.
Though he feels no panic about it──however, because the battle has dragged on, he has finally noticed something he didn't want to reveal.
"Mmm!!"
The voice belongs to Lucia.
"Everyone! Chronosphere's acceleration magic is being released at the moment of attack! If he attacks while still accelerated, he will take damage himself!"
"──!!"
(I see now!)
Logan, who continues his relentless strikes, instantly understands Lucia's words.
It was definitely fast enough that he couldn't react, but he could see the moment of the attack. In other words, he could keep his magic active for dodging or moving, but he needed to release it at the moment of attack.
The true identity of the discomfort he felt──one of its aspects was revealed.
And once he understood, he could deal with it calmly.
If it were him.
"──Hmph!!"
"Here!!"
As soon as Logan sensed the magical energy of the Chronosphere appearing from his blind spot with [Time Accel], he blocked the punch with the "Black Moon."
A tremendous shock burst forth between his fist and the sword, violently shaking the surface of the lake. However, Logan managed to brace himself and endure.
"How annoying...!!"
"I can do this...!!"
The contrasting voices of Chronosphere and Logan.
Seeing this, Lucia became certain.
"I knew it...!!"
It meant that "Chronosphere is weaker than expected."
Even though he had the ability to maintain [World Severance], he didn't seem to have a combat ability that matched that power.
But the reason for that was clear upon reflection.
Lucia shouted to inform her teammates.
"Chronosphere is using most of his power to maintain [World Severance], so he can't go all out!!"
"""──!!"""
Not just Logan, but everyone else quickly understood.
Chronosphere was in a state where it couldn't give its all because most of its ability was being used to maintain [World Severance].
──Not as strong as they thought.
The answer to the reason everyone felt this way became clear, strengthening the belief that victory was within reach.
But──,
"Ha, haha, hahahahaha!!"
While continuing the battle, Chronosphere couldn't hold back and burst into laughter at Lucia's words.
"What does that matter!? You don't really think you can win, do you!? It's you who are struggling against just me!?"
That statement was not wrong.
If either Logan or Io fell, the balance of victory would tip heavily in favor of Chronosphere.
And that moment came soon.
"What!?"
"Ha──."
Logan, Io, and Chronosphere continued their relentless back-and-forth.
The battle, which had been evenly matched, suddenly changed. But it seemed, at first glance, to favor Logan and the others.
In the midst of the high-speed combat, Chronosphere raised his left arm as if to use it as a shield against Logan's downward strike. A layered barrier was deployed right in front of that arm.
Logan's strike broke through the layered barrier and severed Chronosphere's left arm. It continued down from the shoulder to the torso, but──the blade lost its power halfway through cutting the collarbone.
For just a moment, Logan's sword stopped.
As if he had been waiting for that instant, Chronosphere laughed and unleashed a massive amount of magical energy from his entire body.
Realizing that this attack had been a trap, Logan raised his voice in tension.
Chronosphere unleashed his magic.
Pseudo Time Magic──[Time Slow]
Pseudo Time Magic──[Time Accel]
The influence of magic on Logan and Io is limited by Lucia's counter magic, especially their own [Black God's Armor] and [Black Feather Robe]. They successfully shook off the restraints of the slowed time.
However, to make the most of that brief moment, Chronosphere was also using [Time Accel] on himself.
And it wasn't for evasion.
It was to switch to an attack──time to build up a large magic.
The red lines running all over Chronosphere's body shone even brighter, and from his entire body, especially from the twin horns on his head, an enormous heat was released, creating a mirage as if space itself was distorted.
In the next moment, magic was activated at the tip of Chronosphere's right hand, aimed at Logan.
Space Magic──[Extreme Heat Collapse]
A magic that collides 2 or more atomic nuclei appearing at the exact same coordinates, forcing a nuclear fusion reaction.
At the tip of Chronosphere's right hand, in a tiny space that could fit in the palm, several grams of mass reacted, instantly releasing an enormous amount of heat.
A small point of light ignited with a "Boo!!" and began to expand rapidly──
(This is──!?)
Logan, who recognized that reaction, understood that it would be bad if this magic fully activated.
He stored the "Black Moon" still embedded in Chronosphere into a ring and took out another sword.
Fortunately, he knew how to deal with it. Logan had seen the scene when Aaron handled it. But──
(There's no time──!!!)
Pouring all his magical energy into the sword, Noah realized that he wouldn't be able to activate the technique in time.
A chill of fear ran down his spine, but──
"I WON'T LET YOU DO ITTT!!!"
In that moment, Noah instantly understood what the magic of Chronosphere was and wrapped the rapidly expanding light point with the [Multi-layered Severance Barrier].
"Ugh!? Chloe!!"
"Y-Yes!!"
At the same time, Lucia and Chloe activated their barriers even further outside Noah's barrier.
The barrier shone so brightly that it was hard to look at, and within just a few seconds, it reached its durability limit and shattered──
"Jiiieeeaaahhh!!!"
However, those few seconds made all the difference.
Logan's sword technique, which he had prepared with his aura, was just in time.
Sword God Technique──[Absolute Death Prison]
The moment he swung his sword at the dazzling light sphere, all his aura was released, and Logan's sword turned to dust.
Immediately after, the released aura wrapped around the light sphere like a cocoon, contracting, compressing, and becoming a tiny, tiny particle...
Gin!! And then, it vanished.
By a hair's breadth, they avoided total annihilation.
But there was no time to celebrate. Logan and the others quickly looked up at the sky.
While they were busy dealing with the [Extreme Heat Collapse], Chronosphere had escaped high into the sky.
For some unknown reason, Chronosphere was hovering in the air, looking down at them, and Lucia whispered, "This is bad...!!"
Now, the place where Chronosphere is located is outside the area of [Space Control] and [Space Suppression] that has been layered until now.
In other words, from there, Chronosphere can use magic that doesn't weaken.
"First, let's make sure to eliminate the annoying Logan."
Far below──Chronosphere raises a hand towards Logan.
As Space distorts at the tip of that hand, in the next moment, the distortion shrinks and transforms into a black sphere the size of a thumb.
Space magic──[Black Death Bullet]
A small sphere pulled into the extreme distortion of Space, unable to escape even light. The moment that distortion is released, it will bring about tremendous destruction.
Chronosphere is about to unleash the [Black Death Bullet].
"────?"
Just before that, they curiously stared at the black blade that sprouted from their own chest.
Turning their head back, they saw Io and Ail standing there. The blade was a [Solid Blade] that had been deployed from the "Black Moon Staff."
Seeing the two of them, Chronosphere understands.
"Ah... I guess I lack combat experience."
Even though Chronosphere has lived as a human pillar for the 4 generations of family heads, over a long period, they have gone through a fair number of battles. Therefore, it's not that they have little fighting experience.
It's just that──he has never experienced a tough fight.
That's why, the moment Logan and the others got distracted dealing with [Extreme Heat Collapse], he also failed to notice that they had lost focus on Io and Ail.
No matter what, if Io and the others hadn't done anything, they wouldn't have been able to get this close without being noticed. But Io and the others were being very careful to avoid being detected by the Chronosphere.
They wrapped themselves in light magic──[Camouflage Light]──to make themselves invisible.
On top of that, Ail cast [Aura Camouflage] and [Magical Energy Disguise] and [Stealth] on himself and Io. They left a decoy at their original location using [Aura Camouflage]'s overskill──[Phantom Body]──and then Io covered this [Phantom Body] with [Camouflage Light] to make it look like they were still there.
They could perform this series of actions without any discussion because of their battle experience and the long time they had been in a party together.
Not just Io, but Ail was also here because to cast [Stealth] on someone else, physical contact was necessary.
"I won't let you escape."
And in the next moment──Bam!! A storm of colorful light burst from Io's entire body, enveloping the Chronosphere.
[Divine Robe]──[Elemental Orb Robe: Orb Break]
Now completely n*ked, Io slammed the giant, colorful cocoon he was holding in his right hand down to the ground with all his strength.
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