Chapter 178
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The battle between me and Ainika is truly worthy of being called a death match.
Ainika’s two regular arms and ten dark arms swing at me with overwhelming speed, wielding swords and fists trying to finish me off.
I meet his attack head-on, matching him with my two swords and two fists.
Using consecutive Autobahn moves to dodge Ainika’s attacks—
「ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAAA!!」
But the monster before me, now fully committed to offense, unleashes a barrage of attacks while shouting like he’s the protagonist of some story.
Ainika’s ten dark arms are persistent like snakes, instantly regenerating after being destroyed. I’m gradually being worn down. The balance is starting to tip—but so what?
「Like hell I’ll lose!!」
Using Light Magic, I create the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth arms.
「Still not enough?!」
And then,
「If it’s not enough, I’ll just make more!!」
I manifest the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth arms.
「You like trading rushes, don’t you? Let’s go!!」
With my thirteen arms—two regular arms plus eleven arms of light sprouting from my back—I unleash a high-speed barrage of attacks against Ainika’s twelve-plus arms.
Dark arms and light arms collide, sending shockwaves through the air.
In the brief opening during our rush exchange, my two accelerated swords deflect Ainika’s blade and slash through his flesh.
「Unlike you, I’ve got to give it everything I’ve got!」
During Ainika’s regeneration interval, I quickly down a potion.
The situation remains deadlocked.
However, within just a few hours, I run out of potions.
With no means of recovery left, the wounds I’m sure to sustain as the battle continues will only accumulate without healing.
This will inevitably lead to physical impairment, and my combat performance will decline.
It’s a downward spiral.
At the end of this path, death sits waiting with absolute certainty.
So then—what would be the right move—
As I keep thinking, something else flashes through my mind.
That thing is more terrifying than anything else—
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I don’t know how much time has passed since then.
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A serrated greatsword tears away a large chunk of flesh from my right shoulder.
Something’s wrong with the nerves—I can’t raise my arm anymore.
I cover the area with light particles to prevent it from hindering my movement.
I create prosthetic body parts from light particles that function just like real flesh and attach them to the wound.
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Ainika takes aim at my two Gram swords. I fall right into his trap without realizing it.
My crossed Grams lock blades with Ainika’s serrated greatsword. This was exactly the situation he wanted. His dark arms weave through the gaps between my light arms and strike my Gram blades hard from the side. I can’t help but let go of both swords.
Ainika isn’t the type to let such an opportunity slip by. Rather than using his greatsword—he launches a lightning-fast bare-handed strike at my abdomen. I manage to partially dodge it, but not completely, and he tears open my side again.
I press my hand against the bleeding wound and attach replacement parts created with Light Magic.
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After another brief deadlock, all the tips of Ainika’s dark multiple arms transform into sharp blades.
He begins what seems like an endless barrage of thrusts. I try to block with my eleven light arms, but this proves to be a mistake. My light arms are severed. As I back away to regain distance and restore my stance, his dark arms prove devastatingly sharp—I can’t completely dodge the final strike, and my right ear is blown off.
Blood gushes out, but since it’s just the outer ear, I judge there’s no significant impact on my hearing and simply cover the wound with light particles.
Not waiting for me to recover, Ainika’s face shows smug satisfaction as he again launches ten sharp arms from his body. But this time, there’s no problem.
I equip my eleven light arms with Legendary Grade weapons I’ve been storing up, intercept his attack, and completely crush his assault.
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Ainika’s sword becomes heavier.
Unable to deflect it completely, I lose my right pinky and ring finger.
It’s a serious loss. Judging it would impair my fighting ability, I instantly create and attach replacement parts with Light Magic.
When Ainika hesitates and drops his guard after noticing my injury, I strike him with my two Gram swords—super acceleration—and quarter his body.
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「Why are you standing there with that stupid look on your face?」
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My super-accelerated kick collides with Ainika’s kick. It results in a mutual hit. Everything below my right ankle breaks off and goes flying.
Sighing, I use Light Magic to compensate for the lost part—and without missing a beat, I pivot on that newly restored foot and slam a Light Magic-enhanced fist into his liver with everything I’ve got.
「Ugh, guoh」
Heh, so even ghouls are vulnerable to liver shots.
I follow up with a barrage of strikes, pummeling him until he’s a mess.
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Chun-chun-chun-chun—
The Dark Magic pellet barrage begins.
I counter with Rain, resulting in a head-on collision between Light Magic and Dark Magic.
「GUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!」
The agonized scream comes from Ainika.
Can I push through—I release Rain in numbers exceeding Ainika’s countless black orbs to neutralize them—then dash in for a single slash—and slam a Condenser into him, making him explode.
During the pellet exchange, one shot I couldn’t completely neutralize pierces my right thigh.
I quickly press my hand against it and fill and cover the injured area with Light Magic.
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「Laugh, why don’t you?」
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Ainika’s ten dark arms whip through the air.
It’s a complete surprise attack.
Countless black needles shoot from his whipping arms.
My initial reaction is too slow—though I dodge and deflect, I can’t handle all of them, and one pierces my left eye.
Left with no choice, I press my hand against it, fill the wound with Light Magic, and throw one Gram with my super-accelerated arm using all my strength.
Ainika can’t react at all as it pierces his head,
「BUUOOHH!!」
His massive body slams into the wall behind him with the sword still stuck in him—but before that happens, I’ve already kicked off the ground and lunged forward to stab him with my other Gram.
「Just die already」
I pour a massive amount of Light Magic into him, and Ainika explodes.
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My left leg feels strange.
Just earlier, Ainika had cleanly cut it off and then destroyed it completely.
So this current left leg is one formed from Light Magic.
Though it has an unfamiliar floating sensation, I firmly plant it on the ground and once again close in on Ainika, launching another kick. Ainika responds with his own kick, and our kicks collide.
Last time it was a draw, but this time I completely crush his leg.
I smoothly drop into a low stance, grab Ainika’s unstable leg, tear it off, and toss it aside. His massive body starts to fall with gravity. Using that momentum, I grab the arm in front of me and twist it off with all my might, then casually throw it away.
Taking advantage of his moment of pain, I unleash a barrage with my thirteen arms and incinerate him with Condenser.
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After doing whatever he wanted this whole time, Ainika’s expression finally changes as he backs away.
I find it funny and tell him:
「You were laughing so smugly just a moment ago. Why don’t you try laughing again?」
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