The moment Natsuki Subaru finished his internal assessment, Igris, the figure before him, suddenly moved.
The greatsword, fully two meters long, was slowly raised, its tip aimed precisely at Natsuki Subaru's heart.
There were no superfluous movements, just the purest, most fundamental readying of a thrust, as if declaring that this battle would have no frills—only a primal clash of power.
Subaru's pupils contracted. His body instinctively fell into a defensive stance, the Kasaka's Venom Fang drawing a silver arc in front of his chest. At the same time, his legs bent slightly, preparing to absorb the impact.
However, he had still underestimated his opponent's speed.
WHOOSH!
Almost in the same instant that Subaru braced himself, a blood-red afterimage had already torn across the distance between them.
CLANG—!
A deafening collision of metal exploded throughout the hall, and blinding sparks burst forth in the darkness. A violent shockwave radiated out from the two of them, so powerful that the very ground trembled.
Subaru felt an unimaginable force transmit from the blade, and his feet plowed two deep trenches in the floor as he was violently pushed back more than ten meters before he could stabilize himself.
"What a joke..." Subaru's back was drenched in a cold sweat. His Strength attribute, which should have been his greatest advantage, was completely suppressed.
In that single, head-on clash, he had been utterly dominated, making him feel the chasm in their power for the first time.
The shockwave alone had torn his clothes, and the rebounding force left a bloody gash on his face.
This was completely different from his previous fights with the Sin Archbishops of Greed and Sloth. Back then, he at least knew their weaknesses and could formulate a specific strategy. But now, against Igris, it was a pure, overwhelming beatdown, a raw difference in combat strength.
Before Subaru could even catch his breath, Igris attacked again. The blood-red figure vanished like a phantom, leaving no time for Subaru to react.
The greatsword, carrying the howl of death, came crashing down. Its speed was so great it seemed to leave a tear in the air.
With the intuition honed by multiple life-or-death struggles, Subaru sidestepped at the last possible second.
BOOM!
The greatsword slammed into the spot where he had just been standing. The impact shattered the stone floor, sending shrapnel flying like bullets. The sharp sword qi carved a half-meter-deep trench in the ground.
The massive stone pillar behind him, which would have taken three people to encircle, snapped in two. The top half slid down and crashed to the ground with a deafening roar, its cut surface as smooth as a mirror.
Seeing this, Subaru's pupils shrank to pinpricks. This guy was cutting through stone pillars like they were grass. "This monster... is its strength and speed maxed out? Is it a cheat character?!"
His thoughts hadn't even fully formed when the blood-red figure flashed again.
Come on! Let's fight!
"Sprint!" Subaru roared, no longer conserving stamina. With the skill activated, his speed surged, and he became a blur, finally able to keep up with Igris's movements.
His Kasaka's Venom Fang transformed into a silver streak of lightning, clashing with the blood-red greatsword dozens of times in an instant.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal echoed through the hall like a torrential storm. In just over ten seconds, the two had exchanged several hundred blows.
He's too strong!
Subaru focused his entire being on defense, each block precisely parrying a fatal attack, but every impact sent a tearing pain through his arms.
This was going nowhere; being on the defensive would only lead to him being worn down and killed. His stamina was draining rapidly, while his opponent fought like a tireless killing machine.
"I have to find a way to break through...!"
Good chance!
Seizing a fleeting opening, a glint flashed in Subaru's eyes. His dagger stabbed precisely at a joint in Igris's armor—
SCREEECH!
Sparks flew with a piercing shriek of metal. However, the seemingly weak connection point didn't even have a scratch on it.
"As expected... normal attacks are completely useless..." Subaru's heart sank.
The situation was even worse than he had imagined. His opponent was a monster with no weaknesses in defense, attack, or speed. In the end, a powerful horizontal slash from Igris broke through Subaru's defense.
He was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing through three stone pillars before slamming hard onto the ground.
"Cough... cough..."
Subaru struggled to push himself up from the rubble, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His arms were numb, his muscles screaming in protest from the overload.
If I wasn't wearing gear, that last hit probably would have killed me. To have this much destructive power even bare-handed...
"Can I... can I really beat this kind of monster?"
The moment this weak thought appeared, Subaru viciously crushed it, shaking his head to clear his mind.
"Since weapons are useless, then let's settle this the old-fashioned way! After all, the only attribute I might have an advantage in is Strength!"
With that, Subaru decisively returned his dagger to his inventory. He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly. He had decided to settle this with pure, unadulterated power.
Surprisingly, seeing this, Igris also plunged his greatsword into the ground. The crisp sound of metal on stone echoed through the hall.
"Is this... the spirit of chivalry?" Subaru raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "A dungeon monster actually has this level of intelligence."
Before he could finish his thought, Igris's figure vanished again. In the next instant, the blood-red afterimage was right in front of him!
So fast! Subaru's pupils contracted, but there was no time to react.
THUD!
A heavy fist from Igris slammed into his chest, the violent force driving him directly into the ground. The stone slabs cracked, spiderweb-like fissures spreading out in all directions. Immediately after, Igris grabbed him by the collar and threw him like a sandbag.
CRASH!
Subaru's back slammed hard against the cold stone wall. The severe pain made his vision go black, his consciousness blurring for a moment. Forcing himself to fight through the dizziness, he struggled to his feet. But before he was steady, the oppressive red figure was on him again.
A new round of hand-to-hand combat erupted in a flash.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Their fists collided in the air, visible shockwaves spreading from the points of impact, shaking the surrounding torches violently.
Subaru launched a continuous, stormy assault, each punch containing his full power. The entire King's Audience Chamber was filled with the two afterimages, a black one and a red one, weaving across the space at speeds the naked eye could barely follow.
"BASTARD—!" Subaru roared, trading countless blows with Igris in a single second. But in the midst of the fierce exchange, Subaru's movements suddenly showed a hint of sluggishness.
This tiny flaw was immediately caught by Igris. He dodged an attack, and his iron-like hand accurately seized Subaru's wrist.
The world spun, and Subaru was flung through the air. Igris's figure suddenly appeared directly above him, bringing a powerful axe kick down onto his abdomen.
CRACK!
Subaru crashed to the ground like a cannonball, leaving a deep crater in the stone floor. But in the next second, he was stubbornly back on his feet, his legs powering him toward his enemy once more.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed like drumbeats. He was forced back against a wall, barely holding on against Igris's relentless storm of attacks. His arms were numb, and even lifting them had become difficult, let alone mounting an effective counterattack.
He glanced at his status bar. The red numbers were dropping at an alarming rate.
Is this... the end...?
A system notification sounded:
[NOTICE: Passive skill [Life Resilience] has been triggered.]
Life Resilience: Activates when HP drops below 10%.
Effect: Damage taken reduced by 50%, movement speed increased by 20%.
The activation of the passive skill gave Subaru's nearly broken body a renewed surge of strength. Yet even so, facing Igris's ceaseless assault, he still couldn't find an opening to counter.
CRUNCH!
A final, heavy uppercut from Igris smashed into his abdomen. Subaru was sent flying like a broken kite, his back slamming hard against the golden throne before he slid limply to the ground. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his vision began to blur.
Igris approached with steady steps, the clanking of his metal boots on the stone floor sounding like the footsteps of death itself.
He stood before Subaru and casually waved his hand. The greatsword, embedded in the floor far away, hummed and instantly flew back into his grasp. He raised the sharp blade high, its edge reflecting the cold, merciless light of the torches.
"I'm not... done..." A bitter smile touched Subaru's lips. How... frustrating...
Just as the fatal sword was about to descend, Natsuki Subaru's eyes snapped open. With impossible speed, his left hand shot up, his five fingers clamping down on the sharp blade like an iron vise.
At the same time, he claimed his daily quest reward. A surging tide of life energy swept through his entire body. All his wounds healed in an instant, his depleted stamina was instantly replenished, and his body returned to its peak state.
CRACK!
An unprecedented battle-lust ignited in Subaru's eyes—a resolute will that would never admit defeat!
With a sudden burst of strength from his left hand, he shattered Igris's greatsword. Simultaneously, his right hand shot out like lightning, retrieving the Kasaka's Venom Fang from his inventory. He put his entire body's power behind the thrust, viciously stabbing at Igris's abdomen.
Squelch—
The sharp Kasaka's Venom Fang finally broke through Igris's impenetrable blood-red armor, leaving a shallow wound.
Not deep enough! I have to push harder!
Subaru knew that after such a long battle, even a foe as strong as Igris must be weakened. And now, fully restored to his peak condition, he had, for the first time, truly wounded this terrifying opponent.
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Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.
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