Chapter 352: I Will Never Forget You
"Bang!"
At that moment, the air itself seemed to explode from being forcibly compressed.
Kuroki Gensai's sturdy body, which had been as steady and immovable as a mountain, instinctively bent forward after taking Asagiri's inch power attack head on. Blood vessels burst in his eyes, and blood sprayed directly from his mouth.
Asagiri did not let him off.
He quickly withdrew his right hand, caught the Rope Dart as it slid down from his forearm, then gripped it and thrust it toward Kuroki Gensai's chest.
Just one second before the Rope Dart was about to pierce Kuroki Gensai's chest, Asagiri heard the sound of wind breaking from his right side.
"Fang of Metsudo, is it..."
At that moment, Kanoh Agito had launched a straight kick aimed at Asagiri's waist, intending to force him to retreat and buy time for Kuroki Gensai to recover.
Whether he and Kuroki Gensai liked it or not, both of them understood one simple fact now.
In a one on one fight, neither of them was a match for Shadow.
However, what Kanoh Agito did not expect was that, facing his terrifyingly powerful straight kick, Asagiri seemed completely unaware of it.
He did not retract his right arm to block.
Instead, he continued gripping the Rope Dart and thrust it straight into Kuroki Gensai's chest.
"Hmph... perfect."
The extremely strange smile on Kanoh Agito's face grew even wider.
After all, he believed that as long as his straight kick landed, especially on a vital area like the waist, even Shadow would definitely lose his ability to fight for a short time.
In that case, victory would belong to him, the Fang of Metsudo...
Just as Kanoh Agito thought this, an extremely shocking scene unfolded, causing the entire audience to gasp in surprise.
His straight kick missed completely.
Not only did it fail to damage Asagiri, it did not even touch his waist.
Did Kanoh Agito miss?
Did Asagiri dodge?
No.
Neither.
It was because Asagiri's body from the abdomen down had directly transformed into dark gray nanoparticles and dissipated.
When that lower half reformed in the distance, Asagiri's upper body also turned into gray nanoparticles and reconstructed his body there.
"What... is that..."
Kanoh Agito, who was in Formless Mode, instinctively wanted to adapt to Asagiri's fighting style based on this new information.
But at that moment, he felt something he had never experienced in his life.
He could not adapt.
How could anyone possibly defeat an opponent whose body parts could turn into particles and dissipate at any moment, dodging any fatal attack under any circumstances?
"Fang of Metsudo..."
Kuroki Gensai finally recovered.
Although his vision had been briefly stolen after the initial injury from the Rope Dart, fortunately, Kanoh Agito had intervened and helped him survive that dangerous moment.
Otherwise, he might have already fallen to the ground.
"Alright..."
Just then, Asagiri made another move that exceeded everyone's expectations.
He directly canceled the summoning of Human Asura and shifted the Rope Dart of Deathly Grievance's chain from his right arm to his left. Then he looked at Kanoh Agito and Kuroki Gensai standing opposite him and spoke softly.
"Let's continue."
Seeing this scene, Fujiwara Chika in the lounge could not help showing a worried expression. She crossed her hands in front of her chest and spoke anxiously.
"What is Utsunomiya-san trying to do? He canceled the Human Asura summon and didn't even activate Human Asura Mode. Does he want to take on two people in this state...? That's too dangerous..."
"No, Chika. Rest assured."
Yuuki Asuna, the strongest among the girls present and also a melee class, had already noticed Asagiri's change.
"It's about to start."
"Eh? Start? What's about to start..."
Fujiwara Chika looked puzzled, but when she turned her gaze back to the broadcast screen, she saw a completely unexpected scene.
Kanoh Agito had already launched an attack on Asagiri.
But this time, Asagiri's fighting style was vastly different from before.
He raised the arm wrapped in the pitch black chain to block, while his other hand rested at his waist.
With only his left arm, he blocked all of Kanoh Agito's attacks, as immovable as a mountain.
"That is..."
"That's right. It's Kuroki Gensai's fighting style."
Yuuki Asuna pursed her lips.
Looking at Asagiri, who had blocked all of Kanoh Agito's attacks, a complicated emotion appeared in her eyes. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, revealing a helpless smile.
"Sure enough, just like Ashikaga-sensei said, this guy is a monster level genius..."
Asagiri's motor nerves, body coordination, and reflexes were all extremely strong. Even though he was not a melee class, he possessed physical ability on the same level as Kuroki Gensai and Kanoh Agito.
To him, combat techniques had never been a question of, "Can I do it?"
They were only a question of, "How do I do it?"
Adapting to combat techniques and battle rhythm, something ordinary people might need a lifetime to master, had already evolved to this degree within less than ten minutes of actual combat.
"What a monster. What terrifying talent..."
Kanoh Agito realized that he could no longer break through Asagiri's defense.
And he could clearly feel it.
As their exchange continued, the opponent was becoming more and more proficient.
In other words...
Shadow was constantly evolving through combat.
"Fang of Metsudo!"
Just then, Kuroki Gensai also joined the battle.
His fingertips transformed into the sharp Demon Lance and stabbed toward Asagiri's neck.
After Asagiri quickly retreated to dodge, Kuroki Gensai looked straight into his eyes, assumed his stance, and spoke in a deep voice.
"My apologies, Mr. Shadow. Before this battle began, I still held the naive thought that this was merely a tournament, and that there was no need to use lethal moves as long as a winner was decided."
He paused, and a powerful fluctuation of energy erupted from his body.
"But now, I finally understand."
"If I hold anything back, if I still cling to that naive thought of not taking a life, I will not be able to defeat you."
"You are an opponent worthy of me, Demon Lance Kuroki Gensai, going all out in a life or death struggle!"
"Then come!"
In that instant, Asagiri also changed his stance.
From the defensive counterattack stance of raising his left arm, he shifted into an extremely aggressive posture.
It did not belong to Kanoh Agito.
Nor did it belong to Kuroki Gensai.
It was a stance he had realized during this battle, one that existed solely for offense.
At the same time, both sides rushed toward each other.
Asagiri threw a straight punch.
Facing this plain, unadorned attack, Kuroki Gensai saw through it at a glance and raised his left arm to block.
However, Asagiri's right hand up to the forearm transformed into dark gray nanoparticles at that moment.
When it reformed, it had already passed through Kuroki Gensai's arm and pressed against his chest.
"What!?"
"Martial Technique: Dragon Bullet!"
The moment Asagiri unleashed Dragon Bullet, Kanoh Agito had already approached from the side.
A knee strike smashed into Asagiri's abdomen, while his tensed left fist struck Asagiri's right arm directly.
Even with the protection of the pitch black chain, cracks appeared in the bones of Asagiri's right arm under Kanoh Agito's full force blow.
The intense pain did not affect Asagiri's movements.
He simply sent a side whip kick toward Kanoh Agito's waist.
Kanoh Agito immediately lowered his elbow to block, but the same scene repeated itself.
Asagiri's leg transformed into nanoparticles and struck Kanoh Agito's unguarded waist from the other side.
"Shadow!"
With the roars of Kanoh Agito and Kuroki Gensai, dark red patterns emerged across Utsunomiya Asagiri's skin.
He entered Human Asura Mode, and his black eyes shifted into glowing gold.
"Come, Fang of Metsudo! Demon Lance!"
The three of them engaged in close quarters combat.
Their movements had already turned into blurs.
Let alone the spectators on the sidelines, even Yuuki Asuna could no longer track their movements clearly.
She could only see blood mist constantly erupting from within the afterimages. The dull thuds of attacks landing on their bodies merged into a rhythmic drumbeat.
After nearly two minutes of brutal fighting, Kuroki Gensai and Kanoh Agito simultaneously let out roars with all their strength.
"Dragon Bullet!"
"Demon Lance!"
"Bang!"
The collision of powerful forces made even the air in the arena tremble.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
By this time, Kuroki Gensai was in a wretched state.
Nine of his ten fingers were broken. Every bone in his right wrist was fractured. The wooden armor on his left arm, which he used for defense, had been completely shattered, leaving more than a dozen wounds deep enough to expose bone.
His face and chest were covered in deep purple bruises.
That final Demon Lance had been unleashed using his only remaining finger, his left thumb.
Kanoh Agito's condition was much the same.
His right lower leg was twisted at a grotesque angle, clearly showing that the bone had completely snapped.
His arms hung limply, blood slowly dripping from his fingertips.
His chest was caved in, reaching a level of severity where it would become fatal if not treated immediately.
But in their eyes, it had all been worth it.
Utsunomiya Asagiri stood there, covered in blood.
His long black trench coat had been dyed bright red.
A small part of his black mask was shattered.
The wound on his neck, grazed by the Demon Lance, was gushing blood continuously.
The bones in his limbs were fractured.
His chest, which had taken Dragon Bullet head on, had stopped rising and falling.
Yet even so, he remained standing.
Kuroki Gensai, no longer able to stand and kneeling on the ground, looked at Utsunomiya Asagiri, who still stood there after he had stopped breathing.
A look of admiration appeared on his usually stern face.
"You are a true martial artist. I will never forget you in this lifetime, the strongest person known as Shadow..."
"What are you talking about? Do you think you've won?"
Just as Kuroki Gensai was halfway through his words, light suddenly returned to Utsunomiya Asagiri's eyes.
All the injuries on his body vanished in an instant, as if he had never been wounded at all.
Then he slowly straightened his body.
Utsunomiya Asagiri looked at Kuroki Gensai, who was kneeling on the ground, and Kanoh Agito, who was lying nearby after completely losing consciousness.
He swept his gaze across the silent audience, then looked back at Kuroki Gensai, whose face was filled with disbelief.
Then he spoke slowly.
"It is my victory."
.....
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