"Is this… the passion of youth?" Although Roswaal's tone still carried a hint of mockery, an imperceptible gravity had crept into his expression. "However, passion alone isn't enough to defeat… me, you kno~w."
"We'll see if it's enough soon enough!"
Natsuki Subaru made a sharp turn in mid-air, closing the distance once again.
After all, the sky was an absolute domain, completely devoid of cover.
A three-dimensional, omnidirectional assault that ignored front, back, left, right, and even up and down was, for most people, the worst possible combat environment.
In battle, it was common sense to create the most disadvantageous situation for one's opponent. To deliberately choose unfavorable conditions was the act of either a madman or a fool.
Roswaal was no fool; on the contrary, he was exceptionally clever.
But against a Natsuki Subaru who played by no conventional rules, his usual strategies seemed to be losing their effect…
"What a troublesome… opponent, indee~d," Roswaal thought to himself, forced to re-evaluate the battle.
If his aerial superiority was completely neutralized, Roswaal had no confidence he could secure a definite victory against Natsuki Subaru.
After all, his opponent's glorious achievements were plain to see: subjugating the White Whale, annihilating the Great Rabbit, slaying the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and defeating the Sin Archbishop of Greed.
Even Roswaal himself could not easily accomplish such feats.
On this point, Roswaal was self-aware enough to admit it.
"It seems I truly did underestimate you, Subaru-kun." Roswaal finally conceded that he had misjudged Natsuki Subaru. "To think you could negate my aerial advantage in such a manner."
"I can't accept your praise!" Natsuki Subaru said, having already closed to a dangerous distance after another mid-air relay. "After all, you were planning to bully me from the sky from the very beginning, weren't you?"
Indeed, from the start of the battle, Roswaal had flown into the air to maintain distance from Natsuki Subaru, precisely for that reason.
He had been confident that Natsuki Subaru couldn't use flight magic, but now, that advantage had been utterly shattered.
If he could always maintain his optimal distance and launch suppressive attacks, defeat would be impossible.
This was a fundamental of magical combat and an ironclad rule for ensuring victory, just as Roswaal had always practiced.
The so-called ideal distance was merely an easily managed metric to achieve this end.
Continuously stripping the opponent of their combat options, seizing firm control of the battle, and dragging it into a rhythm that was absolutely advantageous to oneself.
This was the fighting style of Roswaal L. Mathers, the strongest magician of the current age.
"Subaru-kun… you really do always bring such unexpected… surprises, don't yo~u?" Roswaal's voice held an undisguised trace of amazement, even a hint of admiration. "Every single time, you manage to precisely shatter my expectations… my, o~h my."
"Enough talk, take this!"
Natsuki Subaru's great shout cut off Roswaal's musings.
With another precise aerial relay off a Shadow Soldier, he had charged forward to point-blank range.
His fist, accompanied by the sharp whistle of tearing air, shot toward Roswaal's face with the force of a thunderbolt!
The ferocity of his assault and the swiftness of his speed made him seem like a completely different person from the one who had been passively defending on the ground moments before.
High in the air, another astonishing collision of energy erupted. A visible shockwave spread out in a ring, instantly scattering the gathered clouds and revealing a patch of clear sky.
On one side was a master magician who had lived for over four hundred years, his combat experience at its peak. On the other was a monarch of shadow, who had leveled up and transformed through countless life-and-death struggles.
This was not just a duel between a magician and a warrior; it was a fierce battle that transcended time and convention.
Below, Emilia and the others watched with bated breath, their expressions tense as they observed a battle that surpassed their imagination.
With a tremendous boom, a crater webbed with cracks was blasted into the solid ground.
"Is this… Subaru and Roswaal's true strength?" Emilia's amethyst eyes were filled with shock, her hands unconsciously clasped at her chest. "I saw what he was like when he eliminated the Great Rabbit, but this level of power… it's just too incredible."
"As expected of Betty's contractor…"
"Subaru is so clever, using his summoned Shadow Soldiers as footholds like that to give that big idiot a proper beating!"
"Lord Roswaal's mastery of magic is already the stuff of legend, yet Subaru is able to contend with him… no… he's even overpowering him." Ram's wine-red eyes narrowed slightly, her voice laced with disbelief. "To reach such a level with physical strength alone is truly astounding."
"That's Subaru for you. Betty has complete faith in him."
Faced with Emilia and Ram's astonishment, Beatrice proudly lifted her small face. Her clear blue eyes closely followed the figure clashing fiercely with Roswaal in the sky, her gaze twinkling as if with starlight, filled with pure adoration and joy.
Ever since she had formed her contract with Natsuki Subaru, Beatrice had sensed an extraordinary power dwelling within him.
It was not ordinary mana, nor was it any known Authority, but something purer, more primordial.
Though Beatrice couldn't fully comprehend the nature of this power, she could clearly sense it:
Subaru was immensely powerful!
This was the contractor Beatrice had chosen. She had chosen him, and he had chosen her—her one and only.
Meanwhile.
The battle in the sky grew even more intense.
Natsuki Subaru let out a low shout, "Sprint!" Stamping his foot down hard on the shoulder of a nearby Shadow Soldier as a fulcrum, he kicked off.
The reactive force instantly transformed his figure into a black streak whose trajectory was nearly invisible. He was so fast he surpassed the limits of normal perception, and the air screamed where he passed…
Faced with this brutish charge, the pupils of Roswaal's mismatched eyes contracted. His vast combat experience led him to an instant conclusion: he absolutely could not take the hit head-on.
"Ice Crystal Barrier!"
Roswaal reacted with extreme speed. While hastily retreating, he unleashed a masterful ice-based defensive spell.
Layers of thick, translucent ice shields, radiating an extreme cold, instantly materialized before him. A brilliant and dangerous magical light flowed across the ice wall's surface as it attempted to buffer and block Natsuki Subaru's ferocious attack.
Subaru roared, his fists blurring into countless afterimages. They moved so fast they created sonic booms, hammering against the ice shield with the terrifying frequency of hundreds of punches per second.
Each punch carried pure physical force, without a shred of magic, yet it was more destructive than the most violent of attack spells.
The force of his fists tore through the air, landing on the ice shield with a continuous, deafening series of explosions. The surface of the ice was instantly covered in dense dents, and even the surrounding airflow was violently disturbed by the intense force.
"It's useless! My ice shield is—"
Before Roswaal could finish his confident declaration, his expression abruptly changed.
With a sharp crack!
The sturdy magic ice shield, facing Natsuki Subaru's overwhelming power, held for less than three seconds before it was rapidly covered in a web of fissures. It finally shattered completely, exploding into a shower of countless ice crystals.
"How is that possible?!"
Roswaal, still in the air, cried out in utter disbelief.
In truth, none of this was strange at all.
Natsuki Subaru had been completing the system's daily quests all this time, focusing solely on raising his pure strength attribute. His body had long since surpassed human limits, turning him into a bona fide stat monster.
In terms of raw physical ability alone, Natsuki Subaru already stood at the pinnacle of this world. Aside from the legendary Divine Dragon, there was virtually no being that could surpass his combined stats in strength, speed, and constitution.
This level of physicality could no longer be described as merely 'strong'; it was an advantage so overwhelming it bordered on rule-breaking.
The force of a single punch was enough to move a multi-ton object; shattering an ice shield was a matter of course.
"BAM!"
With a heavy thud, Natsuki Subaru's fist pierced through the cloud of ice shards and smashed squarely into the arms Roswaal had hastily raised to defend himself.
"—Gah!"
Roswaal cried out in pain. The terrifying force that traveled up his arms felt as if it would shatter his bones, making it nearly impossible to parry as his body shook violently from the impact.
"This ends now, Roswaal."
Natsuki Subaru declared coldly, his fists already descending like a torrential downpour.
Although Roswaal's own martial arts skills were formidable—he had even trained them to a level comparable to the Sword Demon in the distant past—and his combat techniques and physical conditioning were undoubtedly of the highest caliber…
…in the face of Natsuki Subaru's absolute power disparity, all his defensive techniques seemed pale and useless, rendered completely ineffective.
After all, duels between true masters are often not protracted battles. Sometimes, a single fatal mistake is all it takes for the fight to be settled in an instant.
Upon confirming that Roswaal was completely outmatched in physical constitution, absolute strength, agility, and fighting skill, Natsuki Subaru unhesitatingly closed in and unleashed a relentless barrage.
Roswaal lay sprawled wretchedly on the ground, spitting up blood as he struggled to rise.
"Well now, we're finally both on the ground," Natsuki Subaru said, slowly crouching before Roswaal and looking down on him. "Your biggest advantage is gone."
"Natsuki Subaru… you truly are a man who can create miracles, aren't yo~u?"
Roswaal struggled to lift his head. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet his face still wore that same complex, unreadable smile.
He wasn't surprised that Natsuki Subaru could defeat him, because the Book of Wisdom had already foretold it.
This was a man who could restart the world; he was filled with unbelievable miracles.
"Tell me, Roswaal, what do you think life is?"
Hearing this, Natsuki Subaru seized Roswaal by the collar, forcing the man to meet his gaze, his voice low and heavy with pressure.
"What I think… life is?"
Roswaal coughed up more blood, his mismatched eyes looking up at Natsuki Subaru as a faint smile touched his lips. "They are merely a necessary price to achieve a higher goal, Natsuki Subaru~. To fulfill that wish, sacrifices are simply essential, be it the lives of others, or my own…"
______
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 40% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 P - Walnutchan