— — — — — —
Lightning Plasma!
One of the signature moves of the Leo Gold Saint.
Launched from either the fingertips or a clenched fist, it unleashes a hundred million punches at the speed of light in just one second. All that force converges into a single devastating strike capable of obliterating anything in its path.
To the enemy, it doesn't look like a barrage of fists—just a single, blinding flash of light. That's why it's called: Lightning Plasma.
It was considered one of the most perfected techniques in Sasha's diary.
Clearly, Sasha—as Athena—still hadn't let go of her dream to become a Leo Saint herself.
But thanks to her, Ryo had been able to master this terrifying technique through the power of the Hōgyoku, and with almost no effort at all.
And now, the Demon Lord Maxwell—a powerful four-digit being—had charged right into it head-on!
...
In a single instant—
Maxwell felt a bone-deep terror, impossible to put into words. Every cell in his body trembled and shivered.
In his eyes, there was only a streak of light.
A light… shaped like a fang.
What kind of move is this?!
That thought didn't even occur to Maxwell until after his body had already reacted.
As someone who preferred sneak attacks, Maxwell had long used his Gift to push his speed to the absolute limit—right up to the edge of what his body could handle.
He'd boosted himself to near lightspeed. And yet—even with all that—he never saw Ryo's attack coming.
But that didn't stop his body from instinctively reacting.
Maxwell, who could manipulate dimensional boundaries, had used that very power to ambush Ryo. And in that same instant, he twisted space-time around himself in an attempt to escape.
But Lightning Plasma struck him at that exact moment.
Ordinarily, this attack would've pulverized his entire body. But with space-time distortion cushioning the blow, the damage was reduced to a huge chunk of flesh torn from his left chest and cheek.
It all happened in a flash.
The moment Maxwell dodged, Ryo was still sitting calmly in his chair, back turned to him.
At his side, Leticia stared at the bloodied Maxwell in shock.
"I'll remember this!!" Maxwell roared as he spat out the threat.
And just like that—without hesitation—he vanished from the battlefield, fleeing beyond the lower gates.
— — —
"The fight was over in an instant."
Ryo raised a finger and sighed, ruffling his hair a little as he muttered, "Still didn't quite nail it. If I had, I could've smashed through even that twisted pocket of space-time."
He hadn't used the traditional Lightspeed Fist.
Instead, by accelerating his Cosmo to the extreme, he triggered his Fire Divinity, transforming himself into light for a split second—and then used his Cosmo to launch Lightning Plasma.
His Cosmo wasn't yet strong enough to reach the Seventh Sense, so he had to rely on this roundabout method.
And because of the slight delay caused by that setup, his version of the move took just a fraction longer to execute than a true Saint's.
But that fraction was enough—enough for Maxwell to react and escape.
Ryo felt both disappointed and a little relieved.
Disappointed that he still hadn't fully mastered Lightning Plasma.
Relieved that Maxwell had managed to survive the hit.
After all, he still needed Maxwell alive—to guide his infiltrator, the Demon King of Confusion, through enemy territory. From the beginning, Ryo had planned to seriously injure Maxwell, but not kill him.
And now? Mission accomplished.
He couldn't help but grumble in his heart: "I was even thinking of holding back a little if my Cosmo went too wild, but turns out Maxwell bailed faster than I expected."
"What was that just now?" Leticia asked, still stunned. "How many times did your finger move in that one second? Fifty million? Sixty?"
Ryo raised his index finger, smirking. "A hundred million."
He paused, then added casually, "Instantly took down a four-digit Demon Lord. What do you think of the move?"
Leticia stared at his smiling face for a moment, her expression going a little weird.
"You were gonna use that on me earlier, weren't you?"
"…"
Ryo suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
She wasn't wrong—he really had considered it for a second. But he didn't go through with it, did he?
Still, he didn't admit that out loud. Instead, he brushed it off with, "It looks flashy, but it's actually pretty easy to control."
True Saints didn't just punch wildly with brute force. They could throw a hundred million punches per second, all at lightspeed—and hit their enemy's body without tearing their clothes.
It wasn't just power. It was precise, terrifying control.
And that, Ryo believed, was the truly scary part of Cosmo.
"That's not the point," Leticia said, reaching over and pinching his index finger. Her expression was… complicated. "Doesn't your hand hurt?"
A hundred million punches in a single second, all from his index finger. The sheer pain and physical strain aside—wasn't that move a little self-destructive?
"…"
Ryo stayed silent for a long moment. Then he said, "To pull it off, you have to go into a state of total concentration. Absolute focus, mind blank—just pure motion. So no, I didn't feel anything during the attack… but now? Yeah, it hurts a bit."
His face twitched.
Thanks to Leticia pointing it out, he was now painfully aware of just how sore his finger was.
A hundred million punches, each at lightspeed?
Now he understood why Saints were so ridiculously tough-willed—and stubborn to boot.
They weren't just warriors. They were monsters in human form.
Who else could casually toss out billions of punches like it was nothing? Their arms might not break thanks to Cosmo, but mentally? Their willpower must be through the roof.
Leticia sighed. "That's one hell of a technique. I don't think I've seen anything like that in all my time in Little Garden."
And no wonder. Plenty of four-digit beings could move at lightspeed.
But if you asked one of them to throw a hundred million punches in a second—then craft all those punches into a single attack?
They'd probably just laugh in your face.
Or spit on you.
Forget the pain—just imagine how exhausting it would be!
Even thinking about it gave Leticia a headache. She looked at Ryo, genuinely worried. "I think I'll need to start giving you some psychological counseling from now on."
She was serious. If he became obsessed with using a move like this all the time, that'd be bad news.
As a teacher—and as someone who considered herself his guardian—she felt it was her responsibility to look after both his mental and physical health.
"It's not that big a deal," Ryo muttered, flexing his sore fingers.
And so, just like that, he ended up with a new addition to his training schedule: Leticia's personal counseling sessions.
In a weird way… it felt like he'd gotten a good deal out of all this.
— — —
[2273555] Outer Gate – A certain apartment in the center of a city
The Demon King of Confusion had just arrived after receiving the message—and when he saw the state Maxwell was in, he was shocked.
Then he nodded to himself and later he looked even more shocked for some reason
.
.
.