Chapter 181
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Ainika, having recovered from the damage, seems momentarily relieved upon realizing I’m his opponent. I feel angry at my own weakness for being affected by such an obviously pathetic display.
「So you’re my first opponent, Holy Knight.」
「’First’? There won’t be a next for you.」
「How dare you mock me!! Have you grown arrogant with your inferior allies?!」
「Aren’t you embarrassed saying ‘how dare you’ to someone you were trying to starve out because you were scared?」
As Ainika lunges at me with a roar of anger, my thought acceleration is already complete—while calmly deflecting his attacks, I begin to unravel the power Sena gave me.
Sena had assured me that I have the foundation to handle Divine Qi.
The power—Sena’s Divine Qi flows through every blood vessel in my body, reaching each and every cell. It’s a sensation unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before—similar to floating, intoxication, excitement, and calmness all at once, yet different from each. It’s like a paradox finding harmony.
It guides me, helping convert my prepared qi into Divine Qi.
Of course, not all the qi in my body becomes Divine Qi at once; the conversion happens gradually and repeatedly.
It feels as if Sena is showing me an example, saying 「Ichiro, do it like this.」
While dealing with Ainika’s endless sword strikes and barrage of dark arms, I split my focus to grasp the sensation needed for converting to Divine Qi, using Sena’s example.
There’s no room for error. It’s a desperate battle of extremes. I’m going all out.
And finally—
「What?! Don’t tell me you—」
Ainika notices my transformation, sweat beading on his forehead.
「This is exactly what I mean.」
I can see him trembling.
「This makes it round three of our fight.」
Our battle has had two resets. The first was Talisman Sena, and the second was the interval Sena created for me.
「They say third time’s the charm, so let’s end this.」
I convert some of the qi I’ve absorbed into the minimum amount of mana needed to maintain my body, then transform all the rest into Divine Qi at once.
I tell Ainika, who remains motionless with his great sword raised:
「You’re planning to defeat me and then wipe out humanity, right? You could say this is like a preliminary battle before your genocide. Yet I don’t sense even a hint of composure from you.」
「Grrrrr!!」
「I’ll tell you what I think. You’re not cut out for this.
So let’s skip the fancy talk—」
I turn my palm upward, curling my fingers in a beckoning gesture.
「—and come at me already.」
「You insolent brat!」
The king of the Living Dead, wielder of ultimate darkness, lets out a roar.
「GRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!」
His rage knows no bounds, and his inhuman voice shakes the air. In response, sections of the castle walls collapse with loud crashes. Ainika, who already possessed power far beyond previous boss monsters, has grown even stronger through our battles. His physical strength, mana, physical defense, magical defense, and all other attributes have likely reached near-maximum levels.
Yet with the rapid collapse of the castle, his massive frame grows even larger, stronger, and more robust, reaching the size of something you’d see in a special effects movie—about the size of a small giant.
「OBOOO, UGRUAAAA」
Surpassing limits always requires some kind of sacrifice.
Ainika’s words no longer hold any meaning. While he was once evil yet rational, now his expression and behavior show no trace of intelligence.
He has stripped away his intelligence to the extreme, exposing the Living Dead’s raw instincts through pure rage to surpass his limits.
And it’s not just his body that has transcended its limits.
Each of his dark arms has grown thicker than tree trunks, and their number has doubled.
Ainika makes the first move—launching into a rush attack with his powered-up arms.
「UGUUIIIIIII!!」
Despite their massive size, his arms have achieved incredible speed—and with their numbers doubled, each strike cuts through the air with an unprecedented sound: WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.
「Bring it on!!」
I channel Divine Qi not only throughout my body but also through my eleven arms of light extending from my back. Then, Autobahn—
BAGAN BAGAN BAGAN BAGAN BAGAN BAGAN—our flurry of fists collide, scattering particles of light and darkness.
「OOOOOAAAHHH!!」
That’s my battle cry.
From here on, I won’t lose even a little.
My arms of light clash head-on with his arms of darkness.
「ORAAAAAAAAAH!!」
I completely destroy his dark arms one by one—first, second, third, fourth—obliterating them all.
After destroying the last arm, I grip both Grams, ready to confront Ainika himself.
As the now-irrational Ainika lets out another roar, the castle walls begin to crumble even faster.
「Ichiro, this space will disappear soon. We don’t have much time left in this battle,」 Sena says.
At this point, Ainika grows even larger both vertically and horizontally, pumping himself up to ridiculous proportions. Perhaps mimicking my dual-wielding style, he grabs a serrated great sword in each hand and lets out an enraged cry.
The end is near.
「GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!」
Ainika brings down both swords.
「HAAAAAH!!」
I release a fierce battle cry and meet his attack—bisect it—return to stance—
「This ends it!!」
I pour in as much Divine Qi as possible—
「Stinger!」
A true one-hit kill.
「NUGGUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO」
Ainika lets out a horrific scream.
When the Living Dead die, they simply vanish. They have no souls.
So perhaps this is a cry of terror at his own impending disappearance.
From the point where my fist connected, his body begins to dissolve into the air like mist, and everything above his chest crashes to the ground with a thunderous sound.
「How… could… someone like you…」
Having regained his rationality, Ainika questions me.
「How, you ask? The answer’s obvious.」
He remains silent, waiting for my response.
「It’s because I had my goddess of victory (Sena) with me.」
「A goddess… such a distant… existence… for me.」
With these final words, Ainika dissolves into the air like mist, completely disappearing.
「I… win.」
Though I can barely stand, I raise my right hand to declare my victory.
「Ichiro—」
I feel Sena’s presence against my back.
Finally, finally, it’s all over—at last, the reality of it begins to sink in.
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