209. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (11)
209. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (11)
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Daji and Serin.
With the two of them facing off, a small silence settled over the space.
And that silence was broken when Daji moved first.
Questions about an existence could only be answered by clashing with it, and with the gap in their power so overwhelming, there was no reason for Daji to hesitate for long.
Rustle.
Her snow-white hair swayed gently, brushing against the silk robes embroidered with beautiful golden thread,
and Daji unleashed a powerful presence as she took a step forward.
—Moonlight Step.
Whoosh!
The full moon's light, which had been softly illuminating the world, burst forth in an instant as though exploding, shining so brightly it seemed it would dye the world in light, and at the same moment, Daji rode that vast moonlight illuminating the world and surged toward Serin in a single bound.
Daji's figure was, quite literally, like someone traveling upon moonlight.
"...!"
Serin's eyes flew wide at Daji's completely unexpected approach, but she answered by taking a step forward as well.
The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons did not retreat from anyone.
—Heavenly Demon Sovereign-Descent Step.
BOOM!
A massive boom erupted, and the floor of the grand banquet hall where Serin's foot landed collapsed as though crushed by an irresistible force.
Black energy surged savagely, enveloping Serin's body, and amid the vast moonlight illuminating all things, she asserted her presence with domineering force, radiating black momentum.
Then, rather than swinging her Crescent-Moon Weight, Serin gripped the blade of the weapon as though holding a sword—an unusual stance—and slashed wide as if to erase the moonlight shining upon the earth, clashing head-on with the Moon Princess who had surged in upon the moonlight.
Clang! Whiiiiing!
The instant Serin struck away Daji's moonlight-drenched Crescent-Moon Weight, a storm swept through the space where their blows met, sending both their garments fluttering wildly.
Whirr!
Daji, who had reeled the deflected Crescent-Moon Weight back into her own hand, fixed her gaze upon Serin standing her ground with noble poise, her eyes gleaming with interest.
"You are truly... astonishing."
Having gauged her opponent's level from a single exchange, Daji smiled beautifully, as though genuinely delighted.
Serin, who had met Moonlight Step by stepping forward in the same manner, was beyond anything Daji had imagined.
And that was clearly not a dancer's technique, but something entirely unique.
The subtle art of deflecting her opponent's force even while meeting it head-on could without exaggeration be called the work of a Grandmaster.
"A martial art that uses moonlight."
Serin, too, looked at Daji with interest in her eyes.
A peculiar footwork technique that none of her previous opponents had ever used.
The way Daji burst moonlight into brilliance and traveled upon it had reached a level that even Serin herself could not have countered without preparation.
Even for one who had mastered close to ten thousand martial arts and stood in a position overlooking all under heaven, it was astonishing that martial arts she had never seen still existed.
But her admiration lasted only a moment, for Serin felt a deep sense of regret.
'What a shame.'
If she had her way, she would have loved to unfold a sword dance for the first time in ages.
Her heart was brimming with the desire to exchange dozens, hundreds of blows against a dancer who possessed a power different from the past. But the situation did not allow for it.
'How can the power I hold be only this much?'
Considering the being who had permitted her soul to be here, possessing only this much power made no sense.
She was certain something must have happened, yet she observed the situation in that fleeting moment.
The foreign power that had now become her own energy was not particularly abundant.
Considering the gap between their respective strengths, it was even more serious.
If she displayed her power properly, she had only two more exchanges at most.
After two exchanges, she would simply vanish. She had to resolve this situation—the one that had called her forth—within those two exchanges.
And to do that, she had no choice but to pour her full strength into each and every move.
'A trial that is not a trial.'
Despite the objectively stark difference in their power, she had to settle this in a short time.
Her judgment was made in an instant, and once her mind was set, she immediately moved into action.
——!!
Along the blade of the white Crescent-Moon Weight in her hand, a tremendous black energy began to surge savagely.
—Heavenly Demon Great Annihilation Calamity.
The black energy settled along the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight began to devour the space around it on a massive scale, and at its edge, the black energy formed a single, eerily strange current.
With that strange black current dwelling in her Crescent-Moon Weight, Serin lightly slashed downward from above and launched it swiftly toward Daji.
The moonlight illuminating the world was swallowed without a trace the instant it touched the vast black energy, and gradually, even the surrounding light was being devoured.
And Daji simply stood in place, watching it with an inscrutable gaze.
'A power whose destructive force cannot be measured.'
She could not be certain that she could erase it even by using Moonlit Mirror of All Under Heaven.
So in the end, Daji chose to meet it with overwhelming force of her own.
—Moonlight Heaven-Breaking.
Daji's Crescent-Moon Weight drank in a vast moonlight and emitted a radiant glow, and as she faced the incoming black energy, she burst that moonlight wide into the empty air.
The moonlight that exploded along Daji's Crescent-Moon Weight seemed to scatter widely, but soon coalesced into a single immense force and met the Heavenly Demon Great Annihilation Calamity surging toward her.
Tssssssssssssst!!
In the space where the two forces met, dazzling bursts of light erupted endlessly, the white energy and black energy exploding fiercely against each other.
And Serin watched the spectacle with a composed expression.
'How could one who does not know the Heavenly Demon Divine Art dare to oppose it?'
The moment that thought crossed her mind, the fierce clash of energies took a dramatic turn.
The moonlight, carrying enough force to shatter the sky, was now being slowly devoured by the black energy.
Daji's expression shifted sharply at the unbelievable sight.
"What...!"
Considering the power she held, she could not possibly be pushed back.
No, she should not have been.
Considering the objective strength of her existence, the margin of power she possessed, losing in a direct clash of force like the one just now was impossible.
But as that unbelievable reality unfolded and the black energy surged toward Daji with immense force, she had no choice but to deploy another technique.
—Moonlight Flowing Cloud.
As moonlight shimmered like moonlight cradled in drifting clouds, Daji's form vanished in an instant like an illusion.
And in the moment when Daji, who had vanished like an illusion, flowed past the Heavenly Demon Great Annihilation Calamity and moved swiftly—
Serin stomped her foot once against the ground.
THUD!
Black energy burst from Serin's legs, leaving a clear mark on the floor as she surged forward, thrusting her Crescent-Moon Weight swiftly toward the empty air where nothing existed.
Thunk!
"..."
Daji appeared along with the sight of soft flesh being pierced by the blade, staring at her shoulder with an expression of disbelief.
The reality of the Crescent-Moon Weight's blade clearly buried in her shoulder.
Whoosh!
Immediately after, a great moonlight exploded like a flash, and Serin put a large distance between them.
Slash.
A large, deep wound appeared on one of Serin's snow-white arms, blood flowing out, but Serin wore a radiant smile as though she did not care in the slightest.
Seeing Daji's expression frozen cold, it was clear she had landed a solid hit and dealt damage.
"..."
With her left shoulder hanging limp, Daji could no longer grip the cord of her Crescent-Moon Weight with her left hand.
She simply held the Crescent-Moon Weight's cord with her right hand.
"Your incomprehensible techniques are techniques indeed... and their effects are nothing short of astonishing."
Daji, speaking in a cold tone, assessed the situation.
She had sacrificed one shoulder as the price for avoiding a strike aimed at her heart, and the situation was strange.
The moment she used Moon Princess, her recovery should have surpassed human limits.
Even wounds so severe they would normally be fatal could heal over time in the True Moon Princess state.
So no matter how much damage her left shoulder had taken, it should have been able to move—yet the shoulder hung limp, with no sign of the hand lifting.
'Is there something in that black energy?'
The black energy surging over the white Crescent-Moon Weight that had been handed to her.
That energy, cold and yet eerily bewitching, felt threatening in and of itself.
Her own power should never have been comparable to this.
Amid countless questions, Daji tightened her grip on her Crescent-Moon Weight with her right hand.
Slither.
Despite having said she would treat her as an equal, she might have unknowingly been complacent in the vast difference in their power.
Daji steadied her heart and began to prepare her ultimate technique.
As a pure white light began to shimmer across Daji's entire body, Serin likewise stirred up a great black energy and parted her lips.
"The next will be the final move."
Only one attack remained.
She was, in effect, announcing the end to Daji.