Chapter 72: Despair: Petrification Spreads and Comrade Sealed
Rin's fist once again slammed into the Gargoyle's chest, its black-green skin cracking with fine lines, but this seemingly overwhelming blow failed to inflict a fatal wound on the Cursed Spirit.
The Gargoyle merely grunted, its wings flapping violently, using the impact to retreat backward and create distance from Rin.
"Damn it!"
Rin gritted his teeth and pursued, but felt his legs growing heavier and heavier; the petrified spots on his calves had already spread to his knees, and a cold sensation crept along his nerves, noticeably slowing him down by half a beat.
He was well aware of his current predicament: it seemed like he was suppressing the Cursed Spirit, but in reality, he had already fallen into a time trap set by the opponent.
The limitations of his fist and foot attacks were fully exposed at this moment; unless a Black Flash was triggered, ordinary physical strikes could at most crack the Cursed Spirit's outer skin, but could not harm its core.
However, the triggering of Black Flash depended entirely on the luck of instantaneous Cursed Energy resonance and could not be actively controlled.
To truly defeat the Cursed Spirit, the only way was to use a Weapons of War, but this high-attack Cursed Technique was completely countered by the Cursed Spirit's tactics.
Every time Rin gathered Cursed Energy to activate a Weapons of War, the Gargoyle would immediately react, using its arms to tightly guard its vital points like its head and chest, while flapping its wings to quickly retreat.
Even if grazed by a bullet, it would use the cover of its Domain Expansion to create distance.
What was even more troublesome was that the Cursed Spirit's recovery ability within the Domain Expansion far exceeded its usual state; the abdominal wound previously blasted open by the Revolver had now begun to slowly heal, with black-purple Cursed Energy continuously filling the damaged body.
"Is that all you've got?"
The Gargoyle's voice was mocking; as it retreated, it emitted high-frequency sound waves from its sharp beak. Rin finally confirmed that this Cursed Spirit had no eyes and relied entirely on sound waves for positioning, rendering his most proficient illusion techniques useless.
"If you keep dragging this out, you'll turn into a stone statue first, human."
Rin's breathing began to quicken; the white light of the Hymn of Prayer still circulated around him, his only reliance for contending with the Cursed Spirit.
Once he deactivated the Hymn of Prayer and switched to a Weapons of War, he would lose his defense against the petrification Cursed Technique; even if merely grazed by the Cursed Spirit, the petrification speed would instantly accelerate.
But continuing to use the Hymn of Prayer for defense and containment could not inflict fatal damage, only allowing time to pass helplessly.
His Cursed Technique system had fallen into a fatal contradiction at this moment; although the Sharingan could copy Cursed Techniques, it could not simultaneously drive two different types of abilities.
It was either using the Hymn of Prayer for defense and containment, or using a Weapons of War for damage output; both could not be done at the same time.
"Rin! This can't go on! My black rope can barely hold back the stone golems anymore!" Miguel's voice came from behind him, accompanied by the sound of stone fragments cracking.
Rin glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Miguel's left arm was completely petrified; he could only control the black rope with one hand. The stone figures summoned by the Myriad Stone Golems were continuously rushing forward, and the defense line had begun to loosen.
The Gargoyle evidently heard Miguel's voice as well; it suddenly changed tactics, no longer merely retreating, but instead flying towards Miguel's direction. It intended to first deal with Miguel, who was restraining the stone golems, and then return to slowly wear down Rin.
"Dream on!" Rin immediately pursued, reaching out to grab the Cursed Spirit's wing, but the opponent, predicting his move with sound waves, deftly evaded his grasp.
The strong wind stirred by its wings carried black-purple Cursed Energy, brushing past Rin's shoulder and instantly expanding the petrified spot on his shoulder.
Rin's heart sank; his speed was still decreasing, while the Cursed Spirit's mobility within the Domain Expansion remained undiminished.
If this dragged on, Miguel's defense would collapse before the petrification spread to his heart, and then both of them would be surrounded by stone golems, completely becoming the Cursed Spirit's "collection."
He had to take a gamble.
Rin's Sharingan suddenly lit up. He watched the Gargoyle flying towards Miguel's back and made a risky decision: temporarily deactivate the Hymn of Prayer.
He would activate the strongest form of the Weapons of War at the fastest speed possible, even if it meant suffering a backlash from the petrification Cursed Technique, to defeat the Cursed Spirit in that instant!
"Hold on! Just hold on a little longer, and they'll turn into stone statues!"
This thought surged wildly in the Gargoyle's mind. Enduring the severe pain in its abdomen, it flapped its wings even faster. As long as it could stall until Rin and Miguel completely lost their ability to move, this battle would be won.
But just as it was about to create distance again, Rin's Sharingan suddenly erupted with a crimson light!
"Illusion!"
Despite knowing that the Cursed Spirit relied on sound waves for positioning, he still forcefully activated the illusion, betting that the Cursed Spirit's "consciousness" would still be susceptible to mental interference.
Indeed, the Gargoyle's body suddenly stiffened, its feet rooted to the spot as if filled with lead, and the flapping of its wings abruptly ceased, clearly falling into a momentary state of consciousness suspension.
Now!
Cursed Energy surged wildly in Rin's palm, and a black-red light condensed into the phantom of a "tank cannon." The muzzle was aimed steadily at the Gargoyle's head. This was a strike with all his Cursed Energy, and it had to inflict a heavy blow!
"No!"
The Gargoyle finally broke free from the illusion, but it was too late.
It frantically crossed its arms in front of itself, and its wings behind it instantly folded, tightly encasing its head like a shield, clearly defending with all its might.
"Boom!"
The terrifying Cursed Energy cannonball erupted, and the shockwave instantly swept through the surroundings, making the Stone Sea rumble and countless stone statues shatter.
The Gargoyle's defense shattered like paper under this attack; its wings were directly blasted into dust, its arms severed at the shoulders, and its black-green body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, heavily smashing onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of stone fragments.
Rin gasped for breath, about to go in for the kill, but suddenly froze. The Domain Expansion still enveloped the surroundings, the inky blackness of the sky had not dissipated at all, and the shattered stone statues were even slowly reassembling.
"How is this possible?"
From the previous battle, he had already figured out the Cursed Spirit's approximate defensive capabilities. This blow, while not enough to kill it outright,
Should have at least prevented it from maintaining its Domain Expansion!
Rin's blood-red Sharingan stared intently at the Gargoyle, instantly noticing the anomaly: the Cursed Spirit's broken body was covered with a layer of "Rock Carapace."
It was this layer of carapace that blocked the fatal injury, allowing it to maintain its Domain Expansion! This guy actually had a hidden defensive reinforcement!
The Gargoyle lay on the ground, its two remaining legs constantly scraping against the ground, trying to retreat.
Although its head was unharmed, it had lost most of its mobility, only retaining the strength to gasp for breath.
Just one more strike, and it could be completely finished!
Rin was about to take a step when Miguel's weak voice came from behind him:
"Rin..."
He turned sharply, his heart instantly tightening. Most of Miguel's body had completely petrified; from his feet to his chest, he had turned into grayish-white rock, with only his head and one right arm still retaining their original form.
His face was filled with a bitter smile, and in his only movable right hand, he still clutched the black rope.
Miguel's voice grew fainter, and his eyes began to lose focus:
"I'm sorry, next... you'll have to rely on yourself."
Before he finished speaking, Miguel's head also began to turn grayish-white, and the last trace of vitality vanished from his eyes.
A few seconds later, his comrade, who had fought alongside him, completely transformed into a stone statue, maintaining a bitter smile, standing rooted to the spot.
"Boss!"
Rin's eyes were bloodshot, but he did not lose his reason; he had to finish off that Cursed Spirit, that was the top priority.
Just as he was about to act, he felt his feet sink. Looking down, his legs had completely petrified; cold rock had spread from his ankles to his thighs, completely depriving him of his ability to move.
And behind him, the horde of stone golems that Miguel had temporarily held back had now changed direction, densely rushing towards Rin.
The foremost stone golem extended its stiff, sharp claws, less than half a meter from his cheek. Cursed Energy flickered at the claw tips; clearly, if touched, petrification would instantly spread throughout his body.
In the distance, the Gargoyle slowly raised its head, its hawk-like eyes filled with mad triumph:
"See, I told you... you will all become my collection."
The residual warmth of the "tank cannon" Cursed Energy still lingered in Rin's palm, but his legs were immobile, behind him were the rushing stone golems, and in front of him was the Cursed Spirit not yet completely defeated.
The shadow of death, for the first time, enveloped him so closely.
.....
Read 30 more chapters at patreon.com/Zeaser