Volume 6 Chapter 40 Beyond The Limit
His fist pierced through the side of my helmet, and my sword slashed Shikin's body in a diagonal cut.
I thought his head would fly off, but he tightened his muscles and forcefully suppressed the impact.
While Shikin was spewing blood, he looked at me without falling down.
"'──!'"
"──!"
In an instant, Shikin's leg, like a log, swept across my body and a red thrust pierced through my abdomen.
Uguwoh!?
My intestines ruptured, and a pain like bones exploding caused blood to spill from my mouth.
On the other side, Shikin, with a hole pierced through his body, continued to flow out a large amount of blood and endured the pain while hunching his back.
There was no pause in time, not even a second.
Both Shikin and I immediately turned to attack. Swords slashed and fists crushed.
The distance between the two of us was practically nonexistent from our perspective. My True Name forcibly closed the wounds and reinforced my body. His Mukyuuren (Infinite Forge) regenerated his body and imbued the weight of time into his fists.
Haha, it's much more effective than before. Is that his true strength?
Shikin's magic was supposed to weaken after the release of the suggestion. However, Shikin immediately recovered and showed that the magic was truly his own.
While stability has been lost and the sword can now pass through, the power of the fist, fueled by emotions, has increased dramatically.
Nevertheless, I am much better.
I swing my sword constantly, dodging any attacks that can be avoided. What I can't handle, I receive with my armor. Shikin is the same. Despite the wounds all over the body, he immediately regenerates and strikes back.
Truly a fight in which blood sheds blood.
But let's not forget. No matter what state I get into, Shikin is the master of superior technique.
"'!?'"
In the moment I thought he evaded the sword, Shikin's right arm entangled me. It felt like being pressed against a giant tree starting from the arm, taking away my freedom of movement.
'Dokuryuu Shoki (Venomous Dragon Demons).'
When he made that decision, I kicked the ground myself.
I moved even faster than the speed at which Shikin was swinging me.
Thud, thud, thud! With a dull sound echoing continuously, I clashed with Shikin while holding onto each other's arms.
Shikin tried to disrupt my posture, but I jumped ahead of him. In a state where it was no longer clear who was throwing, we rolled over, smashing the floorboards like wheels.
Cut it out already.
I put the momentum of rolling into the sword and swung it.
"'Roar Cress (Wolf Moon Blade)'"
The crimson full moon severed Shikin's arm that was grasping me from the shoulder.
Blood splattered like a fountain, and the bodies of the two, who had lost support, flew apart.
After I cut off his arm, I create some distance.
But Shikin did not miss such a fleeting moment of weakness in my heart.
"Unraikuseiden (Stormbeat Thunderstrike)."
Unbelievably, Shikin's long hair swayed, and a lightning-fast strike was released.
"'Ogu‼'"
With a force that hit me from outside my consciousness, the blow pierced into my stomach and blew me away.
No way, really?
I plunged my foot into the floor, somehow trying to diminish the momentum. My head shook from the pain and damage that spread from my abdomen to my whole body.
Hair can be anything, damn it.
That last strike had a greater effect than I imagined. My field of vision blurred, and both my legs were trembling.
Still, I straightened my back and lifted my face. It's not over yet.
"Haa... haa..."
Shikin also looked at me, out of breath. Blood continued to flow from his right shoulder where his arm was gone.
We were both reaching our limits.
I'm sorry, Tsuchimikado, Yotsuji, everyone.
——And Noire.
I sincerely want to surpass Shikin now.
The ambition to overcome everything with my own power, to stand at the pinnacle, ever since I gripped the sword or stepped onto the battlefield. The euphoria of defeating formidable enemies.
I thought I had a faint awareness of such thoughts, but apparently, this passion was swirling deep in my heart.
If I can defeat Shikin, I can still grow.
I can feel that Lisha, Kanami, and Tsukiko are all trying their best to move forward.
What about me? Have I truly grown since I was in Asteris?
I couldn't help Sharla from Kushina. Moreover, I let Kushina escape.
And this time, Shikin got the best of me, and I came this far with Yotsuji's help.
How disappointing.
I gripped my sword again and took a step forward. Just that caused a pain that felt like my whole body was breaking apart.
"'It's a game, Shikin.'"
I learned that well from our clash. I can still become stronger.
I manifested a bastard sword in my right hand and a crimson greatsword in my left hand.
"Very well, Yuusuke."
Shikin said that and lowered his waist, pulling back his remaining left arm.
Immediately after, a dense magic power that distorted my field of vision was released from Shikin. Despite the injuries he had suffered, his magic power continued to swell.
A body trained over a thousand years, surpassing the scale that humans can naturally manipulate magic power.
A straight path was drawn to someone like Shikin, shining brightly.
"'Flame Linker――Knight's Pride.'"
The knight's magic power increased with each step forward.
Shikin's magic power swells too and then compresses. The building itself is shaking, and the ceiling starts to collapse, causing the statues to fall and shatter.
At this point, I understood without needing to say anything.
As I kick the floor, Shikin's fist is released straight ahead.
'Jigoku Kishukusho (Infernal Fiend)'
The fiend's fist strikes me all over.
"'Ugh!'"
I felt my consciousness fading.
And with the pain came understanding. The true nature of this man-eating fiend, Akkirasetsu, sealed within Shikin, is regret, repentance, and pure anguish.
It's impossible to forget the scars etched into one soul with just a suggestion. Has he endured and trained his fists for a thousand years in the midst of losing sight of his true self and the suffering it brings?
How difficult that must have been.
A thousand years lived in hope was, in reality, a thousand years trapped in the vortex of despair.
Still, I withstand the impact that feels like it will send me flying backward.
In that moment, the people waiting for my return flowed through my mind at an incredible speed.
There must have been something he wanted to protect with this fist.
But if it's about the strength of determination, I can't lose either!
"'Haaaaaaaaaaaa!'"
One step.
Pushing back the muddy stream, I took just one step forward.
With that step as the trigger, a rush of heat surged through my whole body, making the sword feel lighter.
I must not miss this moment.
I swung the sword, aiming for the weak spot of the fiend. Cutting through the visible magic power, surpassing my thoughts.
The "Stella (Star Sword)" that weaves light in hell forcefully clears the path.
However, Shikin's skill was still formidable.
Just by seeing Stella (Star Sword) once, he understood its principles. His fist flowed and struck as if to escape from my sword.
My right eye crushed, half of my vision disappeared.
I coughed up too much blood, unable to breathe. Magic power alone fills the body that has become empty, as if compensating for the lost blood.
The sound of stepping through the floor echoes, and I feel that I am moving forward.
There is no need to think anymore, just cut down the threat in front of me and keep moving.
When this journey comes to a stop, it will be when I die.
I didn't know how many steps I had taken.
There, just beyond the two swords, he was there.
"――Impressive."
Shikin muttered and twisted his body to transition into a spinning kick.
The ferocious arc would have easily crushed my head.
But before that happened, my body had replicated the penetrating movement. The dual swords engulfed the particles of magic power swirling around me, and roared loudly.
"'Eltonia (Dragon Sword).'"
The leaping fang of the dragon pierced through Mukyuuren (Infinite Forge) and was thrust into Shikin.
Faster than the spinning kick, it was an upward slash from a lower position.
The dual swords skillfully sliced through Shikin's abdomen and chest, with a definite sense of impact.
The crimson sword flash, accompanied by the spewing fresh blood, soared through the air.
And then...
With a slash, Kouya Castle's ceiling cracked.
As if a Rising Dragon had appeared, the upper part of the castle completely disappeared, and the moonlight that had somehow risen fell from the sky.
"――"
In front of me, as I lowered my sword, Shikin collapsed and sprawled out.
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