The Princess of the Fallen Kingdom (4)
Creating a skill requires tremendous effort and time.
You have to conceptualize a form that suits you, verify its practicality in real combat, and refine it to perfection.
Only after going through all that does a single technique come to life.
In that sense, the Manga Style I'd created was a pretty radical martial art.
Since it was based on techniques that already existed in their original form, there was no need to design their shapes from scratch. And because they were moves actually used by characters in those stories, their combat viability was a given.
Of course, even I had my doubts about some of them—like, Is this really gonna work…?
But hey, I could just skip the ones that seemed iffy.
Bottom line: restore only the techniques proven in battle.
That meant the only process required for Manga Style was polishing those techniques to peak perfection.
Personally, I called it "carving the skill."
It refers to extracting a fictional technique into reality while minimizing any disconnect and optimizing it for your body.
And the result of that was my unique martial art, Manga Style.
All the techniques in Manga Style are battle-tested masterpieces of the highest caliber.
I carved them to feel as close to the originals as possible. Even if I couldn't perfectly replicate one for whatever reason, as long as it had exceptional practicality or nailed the visual flair, it made the cut.
In that vein, the Manga Style - Asura I'd just unleashed fell into the latter category.
Without an exact description, I couldn't mimic it flawlessly, but its combat prowess was so outstanding that it earned a spot in Manga Style.
I couldn't create things like mirrors that block everything in a staring contest world or swords that slice through anything—but I could still forge weapons that convincingly mimicked them by making full use of my vast aura reserves.
Among all my Manga Style techniques, this one guzzles the most aura, but it's also a national treasure of a move that delivers overwhelming offense and defense.
"……!"
True to form, the Death Devil facing down Asura kept staggering backward over and over.
"Impossible. Something like this… there's no way it could exist…!"
As a massive sword plummeted from above, the Death Devil desperately summoned demonic energy to maneuver his skull construct.
The arm wreathed in crimson-black flames reached for the sky—and Asura's sword came crashing down on it.
"Grrrrr…!"
The blade cleaved the air as it descended, forcing a silent scream from the Death Devil as he poured everything into blocking it.
But his struggle didn't last.
The skull's arm that caught the sword shattered in an instant, and the blade carved a long gash into the ground, unimpeded.
The quake from the impact shook the earth, breaking the Death Devil's technique and sending him stumbling to his feet from his knelt position.
Clutching the arm that had been smashed like the other one, he groaned—then froze at the sight of the scar beside him, unable to hide the tremor in his voice.
"…Absurd."
This guy's not one of the Seven Powers?
His words dripped with disbelief as he dispelled the half-destroyed skull.
"Hm? Giving up already?"
"Why waste it on something that's obviously not gonna work?"
Steadying himself, he extended a hand and gathered demonic energy.
It coalesced in his palm in a flash, forming a long sword that rippled with crimson-black demonic power.
Going for close-quarters combat, huh.
As I watched him slowly assume a stance, he lunged with blinding speed, thrusting his sword.
But even with my enhanced dynamic vision tracking his every move perfectly, I didn't dodge.
Or more accurately, I didn't need to.
Kagagak—!
"Tch…!"
His blade failed to pierce Asura and bounced off. He clicked his tongue and leaped back.
But that wasn't the end of his assault.
"If defense is high, just pierce right through it!"
The sword in his grip morphed into something like a chainsaw blade.
Armor penetration…?
My battle-sharpened super senses screamed a warning about the blade's danger.
I twisted my body just enough to slip out of its path.
Chiiik—!
The swung sword sliced through my thick aura layer, carving a massive gash where I'd stood.
"Ho."
"Tch!"
The Death Devil retreated with another click of his tongue and glanced at his sword.
"…Truly absurd."
It had only been coated in aura for a split second, but the density was so immense.
His sword, forged from potent demonic energy, couldn't withstand Asura's enveloping aura and shattered instantly.
From that moment, his offense faltered.
He must've realized he couldn't handle me alone.
With the tide turning, I pressed the attack, swinging Asura's arms.
Weapons dropped from the giant's hands, slamming into the ground.
"…!"
A sword cleaved through the clouds, grazing where he'd stood.
"Grk!"
A horizontally swung axe howled with murderous intent, as if ready to bisect his upper body.
"……!"
Meanwhile, another arm drew back its bowstring taut and loosed an arrow.
The steel-blue aura arrow gouged the earth as it flew—only for him to slice the air, banishing it to subspace.
Bbbbbbooom—!
A cry of pain echoed from beyond subspace, and he hurriedly sealed it shut.
He removed his mask for a moment, put it back on, then glared at me.
"As I thought, you're not going all out."
"……."
He dodged the follow-up crescent blade strike and continued.
"It's undeniably ridiculous. A technique worthy of the title 'invincible.'"
At a glance, it had no weaknesses.
And in truth, it probably didn't have any glaring ones.
"But there's just one flaw."
His sharp gaze lifted to Asura.
"The monster you've created is huge."
"……"
"And not just ordinarily huge."
It towered beyond the clouds, overwhelming even the sky itself.
Mountains of considerable height would bow before this giant.
"That's why you can't unleash reckless offense."
As he spoke, Asura's assault halted.
Aser and the other Round Table members… looks like they're up against executive-level demons.
Over half the Death Corps' executives had swarmed Aser alone.
No wonder even a Seven Power like Aser hadn't shown up.
Morgan seemed to have joined them safely, too.
"About time, huh."
I murmured softly, but he took it as provocation and bellowed even more fiercely.
"This is Rischel. An island nation surrounded by ocean on all sides. If one of your massive strikes hits the sea, it'll unleash devastation across the continent."
"Hmm."
"Even if not, this isn't a battlefield where you're fighting alone. A summon this size would risk friendly fire—you have to consider that."
His tone brimmed with certainty, so I nodded agreeably.
"True, the sheer size brings drawbacks unrelated to the technique's specs."
For instance, becoming a massive target.
Or the aftermath of each attack being too widespread.
Or it devouring so much aura that sustaining it long-term is tough.
Problems like that.
Ah, I'd overcome the last one by now.
Still, the disadvantages of its overwhelming scale persisted.
If I could just compress it smaller…
Surprisingly, this was the compressed version.
The first time I'd used it, the whole continent shook.
Luckily, it got chalked up to some unexplained phenomenon…
Thinking back made me shudder.
It had been visible from damn near everywhere on the continent.
Compressed or not, its current size was still enormous.
As he said, with allies around, I couldn't swing it freely.
"You're right that our allies are holding me back."
But one part of what he said was spot-on, and the other was dead wrong.
"That doesn't mean I can't press the attack."
With that, my palms lightly clapped together.
Like a prayer seal, they radiated pure, serene aura.
A technique I'd devised to counter collateral damage concerns.
Inspired by a certain hunter manhwa.
"Manga Style, Thousand-Armed Guanyin."
Asura high in the sky mirrored me, clasping its hands in prayer.
Discarding bow and arrow, it assumed a reverent pose—while its arms bristled with weapons, as if guarding the sealed hands with sharp menace.
Meanwhile, my aura surged to its peak, super senses heightening every perception to the limit.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.
The five senses flooded me with battlefield intel from every angle.
Beyond his mask, the Death Devil's dumbfounded expression came into view.
And my honed instincts laid bare his upcoming patterns, predicting moves ahead like glimpses of the future.
"Hoo…."
With preparations complete, a hazy Buddha statue materialized behind Asura.
Lacking form, it soon scattered brilliant golden light, descending upon the world….
"Khek…?!"
Before he could even register it, the Death Devil was sent flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
But it didn't end there.
Bouncing off the earth, his body instinctively shifted to defense—only for an unidentified strike to pierce straight through him.