Aldord, furious and consumed by rage, opened his mouth wide. A wave of crimson energy of overwhelming power erupted, slicing through the air and hurtling straight toward Yamero. Giving him no respite, he unleashed a barrage of attacks, firing beam after beam. Yamero, however, dodged the projectiles with disconcerting ease, slipping between the explosions as if he could see into the future. Gigantic blasts resounded from all sides; the battlefield was reduced to ruins, leaving behind only utter chaos.
Suddenly, from the debris, Delta's spear sliced through the air. Yamero deflected it with a backhand, sending it flying backward. But, with a sudden reversal, the spear vanished… and in its place appeared Delta. With a simple flick of her wrist, she unleashed a blade of wind that slashed violently across Yamero's torso, tearing his flesh open to reveal the bone.
Before he could react, she followed up with relentless precision, unleashing a barrage of wind slashes. Yamero blocked the last of them by crossing his arms, then pointed his pistol-like fingers at her and fired a concentrated beam of energy. But Delta vanished instantly, teleporting to Aldord's side.
Yamero's wound regenerated before their eyes. He smiled slightly and calmly remarked,
"Not bad, your tactic."
Aldord burst out laughing and exclaimed,
"Since your technique relies on the principle that two objects or entities of equal strength attract and collide, it becomes completely ineffective against two forces that have nothing in common." Delta continued, finishing the sentence for him:
"Aldord deliberately altered the power of each of his attacks. No two beams had the same intensity. As a result, your technique couldn't activate properly... it was useless."
Aldord continued to bombard Yamero from a distance, saturating the airspace with attacks, while Delta tried to reach him by exploiting the openings. Yet, despite this constant pressure, Yamero always managed to dodge, slipping out of range at the last second, as if he completely controlled the rhythm of the fight.
Spectacular.
Yamero, lost in thought:
Aldrod is trying to keep me at a distance… Delta takes advantage of every dodge to strike. A pincer attack.
A blue aura suddenly erupted from Yamero's body, violent and oppressive. It spread like a wave, sweeping through the air for hundreds of meters. The very atmosphere seemed to vibrate under this invisible pressure.
Delta, her heart pounding, immediately thought:
No… could it be… the Flow Territory?
Her face crumpled, fear etched upon it without restraint.
Aldrod gritted his teeth.
"Yes… that's it." By fully deploying his Flow Territory, Yamero perceived everything. The slightest movement, the tiniest variation in energy, the contraction of a muscle, the tremor of an atom. Nothing escaped him now.
He assumed a precise fighting stance: one hand lowered and open, the other raised and closed in a fist, pointing directly at Aldrod and Delta.
Then, in an instant—
He vanished.
The acceleration was so brutal that neither Aldrod nor Delta had time to react.
Aldrod attempted to unleash slashes of energy, but Yamero caught his wrist before the attack could even form. He slammed him violently to the ground, followed by a knee strike that crushed his chin, then a roundhouse kick that shattered the side of his head before landing on his ribs.
Without giving him a moment's respite, Yamero pressed his palm against his side and released a beam of concentrated energy.
The impact was devastating.
Aldrod's body was hurled far away, disappearing into the ruins with a deafening crash.
Yamero then turned to face Delta.
She unleashed a rain of wind blades, but none reached her. All were deflected, some abruptly changing course, others colliding mid-air. Under the pressure, Delta had forgotten the absolute danger of Yamero's Imperial Wheel.
But something was wrong.
Her power was increasing.
Again.
And again.
Her speed was constantly rising.
Yamero stopped, intrigued.
In his mind:
Her strength and speed are constantly increasing… yet she hasn't activated her Flow Territory. Normally, only that allows for constant and unlimited amplification.
He analyzed, observed, felt.
So… where is this coming from?
Then the answer became clear.
It must be a hidden ability. A power inherent to her mythical authority. There is no other explanation.
Delta rushed to Aldrod's aid.
"Aldrod!"
But he didn't get up.
He could still speak, see, and hear. His eyes followed Delta… yet his body remained completely still, as if frozen in time.
Yamero said coldly,
"It's useless. I've blocked the energy flow that allows him to channel his alchemical energy and launch his attacks. I've also sealed the motor system of his muscles."
He paused, his gaze hardening.
"He can't move anymore. You'll have to fight alone. I'll come back to settle the score with him… when I'm done with you."
Delta flew into a rage. Her anger exploded without restraint.
Her aura erupted violently in all directions, tearing through the very air. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the clouds, now as black as a moonless night. The atmospheric pressure crushed everything below.
She slowly raised her hand.
A massive, swirling hole formed in the sky, spinning with terrifying force. Everything beneath its axis was sucked in without resistance: debris, car wrecks, metal ripped from the ground, the remains of pulverized buildings, crushed bodies… Even the metal buried underground began to vibrate before being torn upwards into the sky.
To resist the suction, Maki immediately enveloped herself in a dense and resistant force field, preventing her from being pulled into the vortex.
As for Yamero, he in turn deployed a gigantic force field. The space around him stabilized, repelling the vortex's crushing pull. He, too, was spared.
But suddenly—
Delta vanished.
She reappeared instantly right in front of Yamero, separated from him only by the force field. Without the slightest hesitation, she struck with all her might with her spear. The impact rattled the shield, and energy fissures rippled through the barrier.
Yamero didn't hesitate for a second.
He deliberately deactivated his force field.
In the same movement, he grabbed Delta by her metal helmet, his grip tightening like a vise, then violently hurled her toward the vortex.
"Let's settle this in there," he said in a calm, icy voice.
Without waiting, Yamero propelled himself into the vortex.
The whirlpool engulfed them both.
Inside, space twisted, gravity lost all meaning, and winds cut like invisible blades. Two monstrous presences faced each other, ready to end it all.
Delta burst into a heavy, deep laugh, thick with contempt.
A laugh that echoed throughout the vortex, as if space itself mocked her.
"Truly pathetic, Yamero…" she cried. "How stupid of you to have wanted to challenge me here. Right inside the range of my own technique." Yamero managed a smile, despite the crushing pressure.
"What would the world be without a little risk?"
Haha… The atmosphere inside the vortex was breathtaking. Titanic winds howled in every direction, without logic, without a center. Around them floated statues of warrior women torn from ancient shrines, twisted car carcasses, debris from pulverized buildings, shapeless masses of metal… and bodies. Everything was suspended, frozen in eternal chaos, slowly swirling as if in a celestial mausoleum.
Then—
Grips suddenly appeared on Yamero's body.
First on his arm.
Then his hand.
His neck.
His legs.
His forearms.
Clean, deep cuts, impossible to anticipate.
His flesh split open violently, blood gushing forth, staining the space around him. A scarlet spray escaped his mouth as an invisible blade sliced through his chest from the inside.
Delta watched the scene with icy arrogance.
"Do you understand now, Yamero?
This is a slaughterhouse… except every nook and cranny, every atom is a weapon.
Where you stand, above you, below you, behind you, everywhere…
there are blades of wind." She slowly opened her hand, as if to embrace the space.
"The wind here is omnipresent.
It's everywhere at once.
I can dissect you as many times as I want.
And believe me… it's going to be a deliciously long experience." New tears appeared on Yamero.
Again.
And again.
He was regenerating, his flesh closing, his bones rebuilding… But immediately, the cuts returned, more numerous, more violent. Every attempt to attack Delta failed. His movements were hindered, intercepted, lacerated before they even reached their target.
He was struck from all sides, without any precise direction.
It was as if the place itself was attacking him.
As if the whirlpool wasn't simply a battlefield…
but an extension of Delta.
A living territory.
A domain where Yamero was merely prey.
Yamero suddenly encased himself in a force field.
The gusts of the Wind Soul crashed down upon it with incredible force… but none could penetrate it.
Not a crack.
Not even a scratch.
The wind howled, tearing at the space all around, but the shield remained intact, motionless, as if beyond the reach of the laws of this realm.
Delta, inwardly:
It's just an ordinary force field… nothing exceptional.
My blades pierce through the most resistant shields.
So why… why won't this one give way?
Yamero calmly regenerated his still-open wounds. The flesh closed, the blood stopped flowing. Then he raised his hand and extended three fingers, forming an improvised pistol.
A blue energy condensed at his fingertips.
It pulsed.
It swelled.
Until it reached the size of a baseball, dense, vibrating, unstable.
He fired.
The energy beam passed through the force field without affecting it.
As if it had never existed.
The shield didn't crack, didn't even vibrate.
The beam simply passed through, untouched, and hurtled straight toward Delta.
Delta, in her head:
But… but…
This is impossible.
She teleported instantly to dodge.
But the beam abruptly changed trajectory and pursued her.
She teleported again.
The beam followed her.
Then it split.
Again.
Dozens…
Then hundreds of blue beams now traced deadly lines through the vortex, all converging on Delta.
She looked up at Yamero. He moved his fingers slowly, like a conductor leading a symphony of destruction.
Without waiting, Delta unleashed her wind blades.
The gusts sliced through space, reducing the beams to ash of energy that dissipated into the air.
"What was that?!" she shouted. "You can control that garbage?!" Yamero offered a calm smile.
"Indeed. I can guide my energy beams from here.
And the more you dodge them… the more they multiply." Delta narrowed her eyes, then stared at the force field.
"And that shield…
It's unusually strong.
I've never seen anything like it.
It's completely different from the one you were using before." Yamero chuckled softly.
"You're perceptive… despite being an idiot." And what's more, a cannibal.
He paused, then continued:
"It's possible to modify a shield's parameters.
A standard shield is comparable to a real one, but with ten times the resistance thanks to its supernatural nature.
The one I'm using now...
I changed only one parameter."
Delta shouted:
"WHICH ONE?!" Yamero replied bluntly:
"I made the inside of the shield vulnerable and permeable, so my attacks can escape without causing any damage.
But in return..." His gaze hardened.
"The outside of the shield is completely solidified.
Absolutely impenetrable."
Suddenly, the vortex began to tremble.
A deep rumble rippled through the space, as if the realm itself were reacting.
The statues of warrior women—all possessing the same physiology as Delta in her mythical form—cracked.
Then…
they came to life.
The mineral matter dissipated, fragmented, giving way to flesh animated by the wind.
At the same time, bodies, car wrecks, crushed metal, and building debris violently fused together, recomposing to form more warrior women.
Again.
And again.
Their number exceeded three thousand.
Each of them reached out into the void.
The invisible blades of wind converged instantly and materialized as sharp spears, vibrating with deadly pressure.
All were pointed in a single direction.
Toward Yamero.
He observed the scene without moving and declared aloud,
"What is this place, honestly?
Domain that belongs to you?"
Delta replied calmly, almost satisfied,
"It's just one technique among many.
It allows me to absorb my prey… and eat them."
She glanced around.
"Everything, every person stored here ends up either as an energy source or transformed into a warrior to take down my victim.
Well… the resilient victims, like you."
A slight smile appeared on her face.
"Most perish in the first attack.
You, you've held out this long.
That's… admirable."
She paused, then continued coldly,
"But now, it's over." Delta clasped her hands together, forming a perfect triangle. A luminous triangle erupted above her, distorting space.
From this symbol was born a gigantic spear, composed of three piercing pillars, pulsing with cataclysmic energy.
The warriors began to run toward Yamero, letting out war cries that tore through the swirling sky.
Delta shouted:
"Cataclysmus Ultimus."
The spear was launched.
Its speed exceeded that of light.
Reality itself twisted beneath its path, cracking like glass.
Yet…
Yamero showed no sign of concern.
His gaze was calm.
Confident.
Arrogant.
Without waiting, he clapped his hands.
A perfect black sphere appeared before him.
Absolute blackness, devoid of all light, like a negation of existence.
Delta, inwardly:
But damn it… what is this?…
Yamero reached out again.
The sphere grew larger.
Again.
Again.
Everything was drawn toward it.
The warriors, unable to resist, were sucked in.
The gigantic spear itself veered off course and collided with the sphere.
On impact…
A titanic explosion occurred.
The entire interior of the vortex was annihilated.
The domain collapsed in on itself.
The vortex vanished.
The shockwave was so violent that it reached the other half of Tokyo, devastating a neighboring city.
The ground cracked for several kilometers, giant fissures extending far beyond the capital.
Maki, protected by her shield, suffered no damage.
But even so, she felt the overwhelming power of the explosion.
Her heart sank.
She looked at the still-smoldering field of ruins.
"Yamero…" She didn't know if he had survived.
When the smoke finally cleared, a figure was still visible in the center of the field of ruins.
Yamero was still standing.
Not a scratch.
Not a trace of injury.
Not even an uneven breath.
Facing him, Delta was unrecognizable.
Her entire body was covered in blood.
Her legs trembled, struggling to keep her upright.
Each breath tore at her chest, as if the air itself refused to enter her lungs.
Her gaze froze.
Fear.
Incomprehension.
Utter shock.
She watched Yamero… while she herself struggled simply to breathe.
She tried to regenerate.
Nothing.
No reaction.
No response from her power.
Her body refused to obey.
Yamero said calmly,
"There's nothing more you can do, unfortunately." You've wasted almost all your energy.
You don't even have enough left to heal a minor injury.
Delta cried out, her voice breaking:
"No... no... it's not possible! Why don't I grow stronger like last time?!"
Yamero replied, without raising his voice:
"I watched you throughout the entire fight.
I tested you.
And I understood why you could increase your power without ever expanding your flow territory."
Delta caught her breath with difficulty and replied:
"It's... the grace of the hunt.
It allows me to increase my strength thanks to my insatiable desire to annihilate my opponent. My speed and power increase continuously as long as this desire exists."
Yamero nodded slightly.
"Exactly.
And I've also noticed something else." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Every time I gained the upper hand, your morale plummeted.
And with it… your grace." He paused.
"And now, you don't have a single drop of energy left to do anything." Her mythical form vanished abruptly. Delta collapsed to her knees, her breath heavy, her body trembling, unable to rise. Yamero slowly approached her.
"What makes a good fighter isn't their ultimate skills." He stopped right in front of her.
"It's their ability to manage their energy reserves properly in order to last the long haul." His gaze hardened.
"You focused on quantity rather than efficiency and quality."
Then, in a contemptuous tone:
"But that's not surprising." You are just a beginner, without any real training… sent into battle on the orders of a madwoman even worse than you.
"If…
Those who, in my eyes, possessed full potential and sufficient energy, I devoured through the swirling wind.
But those who were not worthy to face me… they, I truly consumed.
Me… and Aldrod."
Suddenly, her gaze clouded.
A profound sadness settled there.
She began to crawl on her knees, scanning the devastated surroundings, her voice trembling:
"Aldrod…
Aldrod… Where are you, Aldrod…?" His spear was planted in the ground, a few meters from her.
Yamero approached calmly, grasped the weapon, and pulled it from the ground with a swift movement, before placing it on his shoulder.
Then he walked slowly toward Delta.
She continued to call for Aldrod, desperate, ignoring his presence.
Yamero then placed his foot on her back and lightly crushed her against the ground.
Then, with a precise blow, he struck her side, forcing her onto her back.
Delta exhaled painfully… then a bloodied smile flickered across her face.
"The spear… really suits you.
You should keep it.
It's yours." Yamero replied, his tone ironic and contemptuous:
"Yeah, I agree.
It suits me much better than a degenerate like you."
He continued, without the slightest hesitation:
"And if you think Aldrod is still alive… then you're truly insane.
The shockwave caused by the collision of my sphere and your attack triggered a colossal cataclysm." He inclined his head slightly.
"Under such circumstances, it's impossible for Aldrod to have survived." You simply spared me the painful task of killing him myself.
Thank you.
Delta coughed violently, blood spurting from her mouth.
Then, in a broken voice:
"How... how did you manage to bypass my ultimate attack...?
It's nothing short of a miracle..."
Yamero replied coldly:
"Oh, believe me... I'm far from being fate's favorite."
He continued:
"My perfect black sphere attracts anything possessing alchemical energy and absorbs its power.
When your spear struck it, a chain reaction was triggered, destroying everything in its path."
He paused.
"It could have been much worse.
But thanks to my sphere, the scale of the disaster was contained." Delta was still coughing, his body trembling, his gaze already blank.
So, without anger.
Without hatred.
Without the slightest emotion. Yamero raised the spear.
And with a swift, precise, and icy motion, he severed his head.
Delta's head was thrown several meters, rolling along the ground before coming to rest.
Silence fell once more.
The fight was over.
Yamero turns to Maki and waves. She smiles back.