Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Olatayo's sneer was still clearly visible as the Guaílí Sword swept toward Lucien's head. The blade tore through space itself, leaving fractures in its wake.
But just as the strike was about to decapitate him, it missed by the smallest margin.
Lucien suddenly lowered his head.
At the same moment, his crystalline right arm moved with terrifying speed. His palm flipped downward and struck viciously.
A hundred thousand meter Divine Dragon erupted across the sky.
The attack slammed upward directly between Olatayo's legs.
Olatayo's mocking expression vanished instantly.
Every muscle in his face twisted violently. His eyes bulged out like they were about to burst from their sockets, and his mouth opened slightly in silent agony.
Lucien's attack was utterly despicable.
Under normal circumstances, that strike would have been aimed at the abdomen. Instead, Lucien deliberately lowered the trajectory just enough to target the most vulnerable part of a man's body.
The golden armor that covered Olatayo possessed powerful defensive abilities.
Yet the moment the Divine Dragon made contact, the armor shattered.
Olatayo never even had the chance to activate Shinra Tensei.
He simply could not imagine Lucien dodging an instantaneous attack like that.
Then it happened.
Olatayo's entire lower body exploded.
Before the explosion, that particular part of him had already been crushed beyond recognition. The pain was so overwhelming that it surpassed anything an ordinary man could endure.
"Shoo..."
The Divine Dragon surged across the battlefield like an endless mountain range stretching between heaven and earth.
Olatayo's mutilated body was carried along with the devastating force, smashing through towering peaks one after another.
Mountains collapsed.
The ground cracked open.
Finally, his broken body crashed into the ruined debris below, buried beneath landslides and shattered rock.
Lucien's cold amethyst eyes followed him.
Without hesitation, he pursued.
At the same time, Lucien drew his hands back to his waist, forming them into a calyx shape. A brilliant blue sphere of energy formed between his palms, glowing intensely.
Several rays of blue light shot outward from it.
The entire sky was dyed blue.
Lucien had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
Striking a fallen enemy was something he would never hesitate to do.
"You deserve to die!"
Olatayo lay embedded deep within the mud.
Blood covered his body. His lower half had been blown apart, leaving only torn pieces of flesh barely connecting what remained of him.
Even so, he was still alive.
Clutching the Guaílí Sword tightly, Olatayo glared at Lucien as the attack rushed toward him.
"Kamehameha!"
A blinding beam of blue light erupted forward.
The energy blast carried a long blazing tail as it tore across the battlefield from close range. The ground beneath it instantly vaporized.
Yet fear never appeared on Olatayo's face.
Instead, a strange sneer slowly formed.
"A foolish move."
His voice was hoarse, but full of cruel amusement.
"You actually dared to use an energy attack on me. It seems even fate wants you dead."
"Full Counter!"
Olatayo roared.
He swung the Guaílí Sword with explosive force and struck the incoming beam.
Instead of exploding, the Kamehameha suddenly reversed direction.
The entire beam turned around instantly.
It shot straight back toward Lucien.
"Damn it."
Lucien's expression changed for the first time.
He had never expected his own Kamehameha to return like that.
Even worse, the reflected attack was just as fast and just as powerful as when he launched it.
It was as if Olatayo himself had fired the beam.
Boom!
The blue beam shot upward into the sky.
The next moment, the entire atmosphere turned blinding white.
A colossal mushroom cloud expanded violently. Six massive halos spread outward through the atmosphere while overwhelming pressure descended toward the earth.
The already destroyed F City crater continued collapsing inward.
The ground sank deeper and deeper as the devastation expanded outward in every direction.
A monstrous hurricane roared across the battlefield.
Fortunately, the explosion occurred high above the atmosphere.
If such power had detonated on the ground, most of the planet's surface would have been wiped away.
Deep within the crater, Olatayo remained buried in the mud.
His entire body was soaked in blood. His lower half was still barely connected by shredded flesh, and his face had turned completely pale beneath the dirt and blood.
Full Counter.
It allowed him to reflect any energy based attack completely.
This was one of Olatayo's most powerful abilities. Any energy attack used against him could be reflected back toward the enemy with equal force.
The ability originally belonged to Meliodas, the Dragon's Sin of Wrath from the anime The Seven Deadly Sins.
Another interesting fact was that Nana, who possessed the power of the Sun's Daughter, had abilities similar to Escanor, the Lion's Sin of Pride from the same series.
Obtaining these abilities had required unimaginable risk and cost.
Just by looking at Olatayo's abilities, one could understand the enormous gap between him and most other reincarnators.
Gate of Babylon provided endless weapons for long range combat.
Shinra Tensei created overwhelming defensive power.
Instant Transmission allowed teleportation within a hundred meter radius.
Full Counter could reflect any energy attack.
With abilities like these, Olatayo had nearly perfected every aspect of combat.
"Exchange for Recovery Pill, Fake."
Olatayo opened the Main God interface and spent five thousand exchange points.
A Recovery Pill appeared in his hand.
This item could restore half of the user's stamina, strength, and injuries.
There was also a superior version called the Recovery Pill, True. That one could completely restore stamina and injuries, similar to a Senzu Bean.
However, the price was fifty thousand exchange points.
It was far too expensive.
Olatayo swallowed the pill.
His aura slowly began to recover.
Even his destroyed lower body began regenerating.
However, most of the medicinal power was consumed by the regrowth of his missing lower half. Because of that, the intended half recovery effect only restored about one fifth of his stamina and strength.
Nearly four fifths of the power had been spent regenerating his body.
After killing Darkness, Olatayo planned to exchange for the Limb Regeneration ability.
With Gate of Babylon, he already possessed both long range and close range attacks.
Shinra Tensei offered powerful defense.
Instant Transmission provided unmatched mobility.
Full Counter served as the ultimate counterattack.
The only thing he truly lacked was a reliable recovery ability.
That was why he planned to kill Darkness and use the reward points to obtain Limb Regeneration.
With that ability, as long as he still possessed enough stamina and energy, his body would continuously regenerate.
Of course, Limb Regeneration was not the strongest recovery ability.
Above it existed powers such as Blood Drop Regeneration and the Immortal Body.
But those abilities were far too expensive.
Olatayo simply could not afford them.
"I never expected that bastard to use Kamehameha."
Olatayo coughed and wiped blood from his mouth.
"If it wasn't for Full Counter, I might have died today."
He closed the Main God interface.
Then his expression suddenly darkened.
The mission status had not changed.
That meant Lucien was still alive.
Far away, nearly one hundred thousand meters from the crater, Lucien hovered above a deep abyss.
His face was cold.
His strongest attack had been returned to him without losing any power.
Originally, Lucien had intended to use Position Swap to escape the blast.
However, the moment he saw the beam reflected toward him, he immediately activated the Teleportation Talisman instead.
He could not risk the possibility of that attack being reflected again.
The talisman was extremely precious.
Using it under such favorable conditions was a huge loss.
If he failed to kill Olatayo today, it would be an enormous waste.
Lucien pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
He lit every single one.
With a powerful burst of air beneath his feet, he shot into the sky like a smoking rainbow and disappeared into the horizon.
At the same time, Olatayo floated into the air again, gripping the Guaílí Sword tightly.
His gaze locked onto Lucien's direction.
One hundred thousand meters meant nothing to either of them.
Within a few breaths, they met again in the sky.
Neither of them intended to let the other escape.
Both warriors looked battered and exhausted.
Yet their killing intent was stronger than ever.
"You're far more troublesome than I expected."
Olatayo spoke calmly while gripping the Guaílí Sword. The surrounding space continuously cracked and shattered around the weapon.
Lucien stared at him coldly.
"You're not bad either."
He had already begun analyzing the battle in his mind.
After all, Olatayo was a reincarnator with countless strange abilities.
Unexpected situations could happen at any moment.
Lucien could only remain cautious. One careless mistake could cost him his life.
"Hah!"
Lucien clenched his fists and roared.
His body transformed into crystal once again as his Ki surged to its absolute limit.
The chaotic atmosphere around him began to disperse.
The ground below trembled violently.
White flames roared around his body while golden lightning spread through the air like a storm.
The space beneath his feet exploded.
Lucien vanished instantly.