Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Light and Dark, Good and Evil (3)
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‘Heh. Is this truly the fist of a human?’
A punch that could rival magic itself. And it wasn't just a single blow. Etella held her breath as she unleashed a flurry of punches. Her wrists ached with every strike against the heavy darkness, but the impact her opponent received was several times greater.
Arcane gritted his teeth and focused his mind. Etella's fists were not only powerful, but the nature of their impact was unique. Instead of destroying the surface, they generated shockwaves deep within. The problem was the interference effect created as these shockwaves overlapped.
‘It's a wave-based technique. This is dangerous.’
Graaaaaah!
As the Dark Golem writhed in agony, the eyes of Etella, who had been unleashing a barrage of blows, flashed. Taking another step forward, she struck the golem's solar plexus with her palm, sending out a massive ripple that caused approximately 400 instances of interference. This meant a shockwave 400 times stronger than her punches had just detonated inside it.
The golem lurched as if it had swallowed a bomb, its dark body swelling and bulging. It looked as if it would burst at any moment.
“Krrrrgh!”
Arcane contorted his face, struggling to maintain his focus. If his Spirit Zone shattered, the Dark Golem would collapse. As the golem's tremors, which had been wrestling with the shockwaves, subsided, Etella bit her lip.
‘Was it not enough? I should have stacked more waves.’
The Yin-Yang Wave Fist was a martial art that used ripples to overlap waves within an opponent's body, then pushed a powerful surge through to detonate them. It had the disadvantage of taking time to reach its peak, but once the final blow landed, the amount of shock was terrifying.
But Arcane had endured it. The shock the Dark Golem received was equivalent to 400 blows from a Schema martial artist, but the mental fortitude of a grand magus like Arcane was not to be underestimated.
“Not bad, little one.”
“It won't end like this next time. You should give up now.”
“Hahaha! So you still have strength to spare. How fortunate. It's been a while since I've had a proper warm-up.”
As Arcane raised his hand, the Dark Spiders began to seep into the Dark Golem's body. The gradually growing Dark Golem eventually pierced through the canopy of the sea of trees that blotted out the sky.
Etella felt her mind go numb. The Dark Golem before her was the very source of the infamy Arcane had earned by confronting countless nations. It could annihilate a small or medium-sized city in a matter of days.
“What do you think? Impressive, isn't it? You'll have to beat on it with all your might, with that Wave Fist or whatever it is. The abyss within my golem is deeper than the sea.”
With a massive golem over ten meters tall, it was doubtful if her shockwaves could even spread through it. But Etella clenched her fists so tightly they felt like they would crumble. She would become the light of the world. Even if death awaited, she had to press on.
Graaaaaaaar!
The Dark Golem roared as it strode forward. Despite its increased size, its speed remained the same. The ability to move at the speed of thought was the biggest reason the Servants of Darkness were classified as overpowered.
Thud!
The Dark Golem's fist slammed down where Etella had been standing. A seismic wave erupted, felling trees, and the ground split as if hundreds of moles were tunneling beneath it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Fists rained down one after another. The shockwaves shook the earth, devastating the surroundings. The moment the sixth fist struck, Etella changed direction and leaped onto the golem's forearm. She then ran up to its shoulder, crossed her arms, and jumped off. As she fell, a series of punches, too fast for the eye to see, hammered the golem.
Drrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
It was the ultimate technique of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist: the Thousand-Hand Thunder Strike.
“Krrrrgh!”
Sparks flew ceaselessly in Arcane's mind. More than thirty impacts were flooding in per second. Assuming roughly 300 ripples were generated per second, and that it would take her two seconds to land, 600 ripples would spread. This alone would cause approximately 3,000 instances of interference. But the true essence of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist lay in its final blow, the palm strike. If he allowed it to connect, what would happen? Considering all the properties of interference, refraction, and reflection, the number of interferences after two seconds would be a staggering…
‘Sixty-eight thousand.’
A shock amplified 68,000 times greater than her normal strike would detonate inside. The hair on Arcane's head stood on end. But contrary to his feelings, the corners of his mouth curled into a grotesque smile.
“Kukuku! Now I feel like I'm finally back.”
He had no intention of running. If the enemy was strong, he just had to crush them with even greater power. How he had longed for this moment. The glory of his past, when he had competed against countless geniuses, flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.
Graaaaaah!
The Dark Golem twisted its waist like a corkscrew. Having reached the ground, Etella also pulled both hands to her sides. The energy of the Thunderclap Palm, the final form of the Thousand-Hand Thunder Strike, surged into her palms. As the Dark Golem's spinning fist bore down on her, Etella clenched her teeth and thrust both palms forward.
‘Thunderclap Palm!’
Booooooooom!
A mushroom cloud rose from the mountainside.
The dense forest turned into a wasteland as all the trees within a 20-meter radius were uprooted.
* * *
The stars twinkled in the night sky. Etella blinked, bathed in the starlight filtering through the tree branches.
“...”
How much time had passed?
No, how far had she been sent flying?
The trees in the path she had flown were all broken.
At the end of this devastating trail, Etella lay spread-eagled, unable to move a single finger. Her muscles twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't feel her fingertips or toes at all.
‘Master…’
Etella was in no condition to fight.
‘Grand magi are truly powerful.’
Even with the ultimate technique of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist, it was not enough to stop the Servant of Darkness summoned by a grand magus.
Is this what magic akin to a catastrophe feels like?
Self-loathing for failing to destroy evil tormented her heart.
If only she had stacked more waves, if only she had perfectly mastered the ultimate technique of the Thousand-Hand Thunder Strike, if only she had drawn out more power from the Thunderclap Palm.
“Hk. Sob…”
Etella raised a trembling arm to cover her eyes. Hot tears streamed down like a waterfall.
“I’m so frustrated, Master.”
Etella's sobs echoed through the mountains.
Figures (1)
Shirone and Canis never lost track of each other, even amidst the forest's complex terrain. Their battle was more cautious than fierce, leaning more towards psychological warfare than a contest of firepower. Given the opposing natures of light and darkness, the tide of battle could turn in an instant if the delicate balance was broken. It was a matter of who would throw the first punch.
The one feeling more pressure was Canis. Due to the nature of dark magic, he was aiming for a counter, but Shirone gave him no openings, creating tension with purely tactical movements. Harvest's thoughts came through via their brainwave exchange.
- He's certainly skilled. Not just anyone can remain this composed in a combat situation.
- Should we play along and engage? We need to create a variable. We can't let him keep leading us around like this.
- Hmm. It's like a game of mirror chess.
The strategy of moving one's pieces in the exact same way as the opponent prevents any gap in strength from forming until the mid-game. Then, when one side can't handle the pressure and makes a mistake, the other immediately exploits the opening. But if the opponent maintains their pace to the very end, the one who conceded the first move will pay a heavy price.
‘He's showing no signs of wavering. At this rate, we could be the ones in danger.’
Canis decided it was better to seize the initiative. And he conveyed his intention through their mental channel.
- Harvest. What do you think?
- Huh? Oh, right. The longer this goes on, the more disadvantaged we'll be. Let's get aggressive.
Noticing that the thoughts coming through the channel were slower than usual, Canis used Dark Port to create distance and asked.
- What's wrong?
- No, I just felt a seismic wave. It's from about two kilometers away.
Harvest, whose sense of vibration was highly developed, could see, hear, and even distinguish tastes through vibrations.
- A seismic wave?
- It's still being transmitted. An impact of this magnitude could only be Arcane. He's probably summoned a Servant of Darkness.
- Master did? But the Servant of Darkness is his trump card. What does this mean?
- It could mean something good or something bad. The good news is the old man is in top condition. The bad news is that he's met an opponent strong enough to make him use a Servant of Darkness.
- A strong opponent... Alpheas?
- That's the most logical assumption for now. Anyway, we need to move. If Arcane has found Alpheas, we should wrap things up here.
- Got it. Let's begin.
Canis closed the distance and moved in. Unexpectedly, Shirone met him head-on without backing down. To instantly catch the shift in the flow and maintain the initiative was an almost animalistic feedback.
Canis cast the Power of Darkness. The form of the shadow is imbued with the magus's unique personality, and Canis's was a double-edged saw blade specialized for offense.
As Shirone fired his Photon Cannon in succession, the Power of Darkness was chipped away like a rock weathered by storms. Light was certainly the natural enemy of darkness, but Canis stuck to his dark magic. He could use the basic magic of every school, but this wasn't an opponent he could face with petty tricks.
‘Hold on. He can't keep casting magic of this power forever. If I can endure, the tide will surely turn.’
Just as Canis predicted, Shirone's mental fatigue was accumulating by the moment. Even with the elemental advantage, the defensive power of dark magic was not to be underestimated.
‘I need more power.’
Photons are so active that loss is inevitable. Therefore, Shirone compressed the photons faster than they could be lost, increasing their mass. It was a method that consumed a great deal of mental energy, but the power was significantly enhanced, and the sphere of white light wavered erratically as it grew in size.
Canis immediately sensed the change.
- What is this?
- The power has increased. I'll take it.
Harvest stepped in front of Canis and took a stance, tensing his abdomen. When the massive Photon Cannon slammed into his stomach, he brought his hands over it, trying to crush the photons. But the photons wouldn't be crushed; instead, with a loud *thwang*, Harvest's body was sent flying through the forest.
Canis's face turned to one of disbelief.
- Harvest. Are you okay?
- More or less. That thing's damn heavy. It's a lethal weapon.
Shirone floated a Photon Cannon above his head. He then created photons above both of his shoulders. As the three Photon Cannons in total wavered, containing immense mass, Harvest spread his arms as if refusing to be intimidated and shouted.
“Kikikiki! That tickles! Is that all you've got for a finishing move?”
“No. That was just practice.”
“...”
Harvest's voice died in his throat. As a Photon Cannon twice as powerful as the first was fired, the massive trees in the flash's path had their trunks blown apart. Canis's mental channel sped up to its limit as Harvest's thoughts flooded in.
- Canis. Let's dodge this.
- If we start dodging, we'll lose the initiative. We can't back down from this fight.
- I don't think I can block it!
- You can. Absorb my mental energy.
- Goddammit! You're a real pain in the ass!
As he absorbed Canis's mental energy, Harvest's body swelled to a massive size. His stomach opened, and a shadow that transformed into a beast's maw let out a horrifying scream toward the three beams of light.
“Kraaaaaaaaah!”
Light struck darkness.
* * *
Creas was a warm, southern city. And it was now summer. But atop the Uncrossable Bridge, a blizzard from a snowy field was raging.
Iruki and Nade pulled their collars tight. The blizzard obscured their vision, making Shina and Lucas's figures blurry.
“Ugh. It's freezing. What's going on? Why is Miss Shina casting magic?”
“Maybe her mind has returned? She might have awakened when she fell from the cliff.”