Chapter 775: Raising 'Irreconcilable Enemy' High, the Power of Evil that Cleaves the World
"This is a destined battle belonging to the Demon Lord. Thou, Fruit of Evil from another world, need not engage."
Just by looking at Izayoi Sakamaki, Azi Dahaka could feel a certain internal connection between them.
Even though at this moment, He probably only amounted to a fraction of His true self.
But that insufficient power had been supplemented through the Fruit of Evil from another world.
He felt this body's understanding and utilization of power. Call it crude, call it wild.
It was another path—a power completely focused on the self, discarding destiny, Gifts, Gods and Buddhas, Astral Spirits, Dragon Species, and all external conditions.
The so-called power of a martial artist...
And in the hands of this existence, condensed from another great evil, this power, inflated to its absolute limit, gathered together and produced a qualitative change.
Based on his Body of Stars, all of Azi Dahaka's attributes also received a perfect eight-fold enhancement at this moment.
Relying entirely on physical strength, He was enough to fight the current Izayoi Sakamaki. Furthermore, because of Kaito Shirogane's special mystic eyes, even the [Another Cosmology] that He couldn't invoke at this moment received a certain degree of completion.
The twisted Human Order, [Comparison], shone within this body. He obtained the trait of always growing to be slightly stronger than His enemy.
In the battle between the three-headed evil dragon and the white anomalous beast, the two sides climbed over each other, twisted each other, their power rising almost infinitely.
Izayoi Sakamaki, similarly, had never experienced a battle of this intensity. He had always known clearly that he was strong, that his body contained a power even gods couldn't comprehend.
Shortly after entering this world, he had consecutively defeated dragon-born, Divine Spirits, and even a so-called Demon Lord. In pure strength, none were his match.
He was strong—so strong that he didn't even need to dig into his own power to defeat most enemies.
Until this very moment...
Izayoi Sakamaki's eyes seemed to glow. His attention was focused to the absolute limit. It was different from facing the white [Beast], where the other party used a special Gift to counter him...
...Where its power was always slightly stronger than his, and its attacks were always impossible to dodge or defend against.
Although that kind of battle was oppressive, Izayoi Sakamaki actually adapted to it very quickly. It was like an opponent who was always just a bit stronger than you.
While it was hard for you to win, it was equally hard for the opponent to overwhelmingly crush you.
The crude turn-based combat between the two lacked any joy.
But the three-headed evil dragon right now was completely different. It wasn't just power, speed, or destructive force. More importantly, the other party's understanding of [Combat] was on a completely different level than his.
With the exact same power and speed, the other party could still easily defeat him...
In this moment, Izayoi Sakamaki recalled the aura and gaze that bizarre martial artist had displayed when they first met in that forest.
So, this is the scene he imagined in his mind back then.
A scene where, if I didn't have an absolute advantage in power, I would be overwhelmingly crushed in a fight...
The particles within Izayoi Sakamaki's body began to operate at high speed. His unique [Truth Unknown] power burned ever brighter, his speed rapidly approaching the third cosmic velocity.
A force field naturally formed on the surface of his body. Every movement was like a comet's impact. Even if a punch missed, it would create an airburst that shook the ocean.
Izayoi Sakamaki directly entered a state like a thorough world-class natural disaster. He felt his condition improving continuously. Even the white Beast was beginning to find it somewhat difficult to keep up with his fighting style.
Unconsciously, Izayoi Sakamaki's hands mimicked Kaito Shirogane's movement and force generation methods. He rapidly transitioned from a physical combat expert relying on instinct into a true martial artist, and he continued to evolve.
If measured from the perspective of the Infinite Dimensional Space, it was as if Izayoi Sakamaki had directly acquired the rare specialty [Martial Arts Mastery] during the battle, and it was rapidly leveling up, jumping swiftly from Lv1 to Lv5, Lv6, and directly breaking through to the Lv7 tier.
His application of his own power became increasingly smooth.
Azi Dahaka, fighting him, similarly appreciated this kind of outstanding individual. He was thorough [Evil], carrying out the mission of slaughter and destruction.
But Azi Dahaka's true heart was incredibly open and righteous.
It was precisely because this world had [Evil] that it could serve as a contrast, highlighting the existence of [Good]. The dualistic opposition of [Good] and [Evil] was the reason for His existence.
If the [Good] opposing Him was particularly pathetic, then He, as [Absolute Evil], would lose His reflection and become meaningless.
"Not enough, still not enough!"
On the central dragon head, Kaito Shirogane's expression had completely lost control. He reveled in the burdenless power of the perfectly activated Eight-Fold Kaio-Ken. The spiral behind his back even accelerated further.
Since the physical body was no longer a shackle, he could climb to even higher limits, to see even higher scenery.
He was thinking, he was exploring the limits of his own power. The only thing he ignored was Azi Dahaka's rhetoric. He only pursued power, pursued battle, nothing more. Everything else had nothing to do with him.
The skin around his eyes began to be dyed by the brilliant flames of light, even trailing long streaks.
The level of the Kaio-Ken, which had been stagnant for a long time, began to jump again. The upper limit of the Kaio-Ken didn't stop here; he could still become stronger!
Under the attacks of the three-headed evil dragon, the Beast of Comparison began to be stretched thin. After its special attack modifier against primates lost its effect, facing a Demon Lord who similarly possessed infinite growth, Primate Murder fell into a disadvantage.
Furthermore, due to the opponent's immortal body, the white Beast began to suffer repeated injuries during their exchanges.
If this battle continued, [Beast of Comparison: Primate Murder] would probably be the first to be eliminated.
Izayoi Sakamaki threw a punch from behind. Azi Dahaka and Kaito Shirogane were currently controlling the body simultaneously. The two did not interfere with the abilities, Authorities, and Gifts inherently possessed by each other.
Therefore, that realm of martial arts was still preserved.
His figure twisted instantly. That airburst capable of shattering the atmosphere with a single blow was completely meaningless to the Body of Stars. He merely tilted his head, took the hit head-on with his shoulder, and spun around, throwing a punch that started later but arrived first, aiming straight for Izayoi Sakamaki's head.
Izayoi Sakamaki felt a stinging pain in his spine. Premonitions and scenes of combat flashed through his mind one after another.
All images vanished from his eyes. The next moment, he seemed to break through his shackles like a fish darting through water, his movements instantly becoming much smoother.
BOOM!
[Absolute Initiative]!
A martial arts principle that even Kaito Shirogane hadn't comprehended began to manifest in Izayoi Sakamaki. His fist completely erupted a step before Kaito Shirogane and Azi Dahaka's.
After the fists of the two clashed solidly once, they instantly rebounded. The next moment, countless overlapping punch shadows erupted thunderously, completely tearing space apart.
The sound of the churning Underworld echoed endlessly, but every time the Aura of Death of Shinra struck Izayoi Sakamaki's body, it was directly blocked by the [Truth Unknown] Gift.
He possessed the absolute priority effect of ignoring instant-death abilities. His life could not be ended through this method of forceful curse-killing.
The flames of light on Kaito Shirogane's body grew even fiercer. This trait of Izayoi Sakamaki actually made him even more excited. Having finally encountered such an opponent, he didn't want the battle to end because of a sudden Aura of Death of Shinra.
Thump!
Right at this moment, an intense heartbeat echoed, as if it were the heartbeat of the world itself. The individuals in battle noticed it instantly, but merely shifted their eyes to glance at the chaotic battlefield on the other side.
The combat power of these few individuals, after their continuous escalation, had already reached a level where no one else could intervene.
Space was torn apart over a massive area. Kaito Shirogane felt the world collapse value rising rapidly. He knew that without himself and the numerous Heroic Spirits from the original work to stop it, this world was being destroyed rapidly.
Very good~ Tiamat, you are doing very well!
Kaito Shirogane was immersed in the ecstasy of his growing power. In his empty Sea of Consciousness, the two white jade Thrones of the Heart facing each other were drawing closer and closer.
Neither Kaito Shirogane nor Azi Dahaka, both immersed in battle, noticed this.
Even if they had, given their temperaments, they highly likely wouldn't have cared too much.
One was an entity with a clear understanding of His own destiny: the [Absolute Evil] that must be defeated by [Absolute Good], the [Final Trial of Humanity] that must be defeated by humanity, the Demon Lord that must be defeated.
The other was an outlier who had been repeatedly warned of his [Destined Death], yet cared little about his own life or death.
In the values of both individuals, survival ranked quite low on their list of priorities.
The two Thrones of the Heart drew closer and closer, until they began to merge.
And during this process, the use of Kaito Shirogane and Azi Dahaka's various Authorities and Gifts became increasingly seamless.
[Warning: Demon Lord Authority of Archetype of Terminus and Genesis (Absolute Evil) is rising. Please terminate immediately—]
The warnings from the Infinite Dimensional Space practically popped out line by line. The Space was trying its best to save its outstanding mercenary. But the Limit-Break Spiral on his back had already been pushed to its limit, the spiral force directly breaking through the shackles.
Kaito Shirogane had completely begun to ignore everything.
[Kaio-Ken level up. Current: Lv5]
"Hah, I've got it!"
"Sixteen-Fold Kaio—"
Amidst Kaito Shirogane's crazed shouts, the blood within his body surged, bursting through his skin. The Body of Stars gleamed brilliantly at this moment. As soon as that blood left his body, it transformed into white wyverns.
Ki and power were soaring into the sky like a rampage. Even Azi Dahaka momentarily lost control of the body due to this overly massive gap in power.
Thump!
The world seemed to fall silent for a moment, and then that silence was broken by the heartbeat that had merged with the world.
Kaito Shirogane felt golden fragments appear out of thin air around him. Both his Ki that had shot into the sky and the blood that had left his body and turned into wyverns rolled backward into his body.
[You have obtained the Miracle: Return to the Beginning]
Whether one calls the power of [Miracles] just that formidable, or says that the Infinite Dimensional Space was also standing on Sousuke's side at this moment, hoping to end this battle that was causing the Space massive losses using the power of this miracle...
This miracle truly acted upon Kaito Shirogane, beginning to reverse his state.
The battle between the two humans and the beast was halted, all of them turning their heads simultaneously.
At this moment, the boundless ocean below had completely turned golden.
The man known as the [King of Miracles], the strongest Reincarnator of the current stage, stood on the ocean with his arms spread wide. The golden miracle was sprinkled everywhere.
The night sky was also lit up by the gold.
Whether it was the white wyverns or the black magical beasts, all developed their own intelligence under this golden power.
Even the [Beast] governing depravity began to reach an understanding with Sousuke, and Tiamat fell into a daze.
Gilgamesh, having raised Ea with one hand, stared blankly at the human standing in the golden ocean. The man was saving his world...
All calamities were being reversed at this moment because of the miracle.
The world was responding to the gift of the miracle!
Even outside this world, the Halloween Queen, who truly possessed the power to decide the world's direction, seemed moved by Sousuke's choice and stopped granting Ye Zi power.
Just as everything was about to return to its origin point.
Roars erupted simultaneously from Izayoi Sakamaki and Kaito Shirogane's mouths.
One crashed like a comet re-entering the atmosphere, the other like a blazing white stream of light. They simultaneously shattered the atmosphere and space.
Because of the overly violent speed and power, the golden ocean appeared distorted in this moment.
Then, the two figures forcibly shattered the figure radiating the golden miracle, along with the entire golden ocean and sky.
Crack~ BOOM!
Pitch-black cracks spread across the ocean and the sky, then shattered with a simultaneous crack.
The golden miracle vanished like an illusion. The pitch-black spatial rifts sucked in massive amounts of seawater, and air poured in as well.
The world returned to its cold, dark black.
Standing in the tavern in Underwood, sensing the progress of the Gift Game within the parchment from afar, Ye Zi's expression was hollow. She hadn't yet recovered from the shift between extreme sorrow and extreme joy. At her feet lay the powerful item forged jointly by Nen, the Magic of Miracles, and the Queen's Gift: the [End of Rhapsody].
"Mercenary Tao... that... lunatic... Hah, hahaha..."
Ye Zi laughed and cried, completely descending into madness in this moment. She covered her face and stood up, staring unblinking at the Halloween Queen and Shiroyasha on the street.
"Queen... in this game... no matter what happened... ultimately, I won!"
She couldn't be considered flawless in her calculations at all. There were many intentionally exposed loopholes and flaws in this plan. She was perhaps also hoping that Sousuke and the people of Azure Sky could kill her and end it all before she finally made her choice.
She was just a half-baked person like that, completely lacking the decisive ruthlessness of major villains in those fictional works.
Yet, it was precisely this plan riddled with holes that ultimately led to success, because the people participating in this Gift Game were inherently a bunch of lunatics.
She was a lunatic, Sousuke was a lunatic.
And Mercenary Tao was the lunatic among lunatics.
That guy... is absolutely dead!
Kaito Shirogane couldn't feel any of those things. He only felt that his condition right now was surprisingly good.
[Despair Savior Mode, Activated]
[You have sensed the Counter Force: Gaia]
[You have sensed the Counter Force: Alaya]
[You have received Gaia's Blessing: Upon the planet, you will receive an additional enhancement to immortality and regenerative traits. You will be immune to the effects of destiny-type, time-type, and causality-related abilities.]
[You have received Alaya's Blessing: When attacking a target deemed an Enemy of Primates, your attacks cannot be dodged and cannot be nullified.]
Azi Dahaka shuddered violently. He felt it again—that power perfectly multiplied. The power that had already climbed to an extremely terrifying level had actually doubled once more!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just by standing there, the force field on the surface of the three-headed evil dragon's body explosively expanded several times. It only stopped after concentric rings of pitch-black rifts clearly manifested in the surroundings.
Kaito Shirogane (Azi Dahaka) finally began to merge perfectly in this moment. Kaito Shirogane felt Azi Dahaka's true power.
The brilliant magic within his eyes began to fuse with the true power system of Zoroastrianism within his body.
[Another Cosmology: Avesta]!
Kaito Shirogane exhaled with a sound almost like a groan. His hands dropped to his sides. One head stared at Izayoi Sakamaki, and a white lightsaber began to appear in that hand.
Another head looked at the Beast of Comparison that twisted Human Order, and a black lightsaber appeared in the other hand.
See everything, understand everything, mimic everything, command everything, and then... conquer everything!
Kaito Shirogane raised [Irreconcilable Enemy] high, looked down at Sousuke who had been blasted beneath the golden sea surface, and then swung a horizontal slash against the world.
Screech~ Crack!
A flash of black and white instantly swept across the world. The world began to stratify...