Chapter 39: Zesshi Zetsumei, You're Mine!
After deflecting her move with ease, Aurelius shook his head and then exhaled.
In an instant, his dark red aura resonated like a wave, and with him as the center, black light exploded outward.
Zesshi, who transcended the realm of human strength, was indeed strong by human standards, but Aurelius was an absolute god, a being beyond all others, the ultimate deity of dragons and demons.
"More!"
Nonetheless, even after knowing Aurelius's true identity, Zesshi's burning desire to fight him remained undiminished.
Aurelius admired her determination.
In fact, had she been frightened by this mere display of his strength, he would have been greatly disappointed in her. Such disappointment might have led him to kill her for wasting his time and efforts.
Fortunately, Zesshi proved to be a more interesting character than he had anticipated.
Not to mention, she seemed to be quite fond of him too.
"Take this."
The Dark Heaven Demon Sword, Ashteron, sliced through the air towards Zesshi.
—Screech!
She could see Aurelius's movements since he deliberately slowed down and moved to defend by holding her scythe straight up.
However, the jet-black demonic sword that should have collided with the scythe suddenly changed direction mid-swing and cut through her abdomen.
"Ugh!"
Reeling from the pain, she staggered back, her mind racing to understand how he had bypassed her guard. The agony was excruciating, but she had no time to focus on it. Her curiosity about his technique outweighed the pain.
"What... was that?"
Even after seeing it with her own eyes, Zesshi couldn't comprehend how the sword had penetrated her defenses.
Aurelius casually flicked her blood off his sword's blade and grinned sadistically.
Despite Aurelius's mocking expression, Zesshi, having calmed herself, had a smile on her face and asked a curious question.
"How did you do that?"
"Do you think I'll tell you that easily? If you're curious, find out for yourself," Aurelius provoked her, but despite this, Zesshi didn't retort.
She simply stroked her abdomen with great anticipation and excitement, her palms smeared with blood from the injury.
Examining the blood on her hand, she tightened her grip on her War Scythe.
"You breached my defenses. Even after allowing me to attack, you, instead of getting hurt, managed to hurt me. Perhaps... just perhaps... you're the one I've been waiting for."
A blush adorned Zesshi's cheeks as she spoke, and her breaths grew heavier as she took a combat stance.
"I don't think this fight will be enjoyable if it drags on. Let's end it quickly."
"The feeling's mutual. Then come!" Aurelius responded.
Black and white sparks filled the air, and an eerie light illuminated the blade of Zesshi's War Scythe.
"I'm extremely grateful for this experience of pain you've given me! I'm truly relishing it now! This is what a battle is! This is a fight! This is war! Let's risk our lives!"
"You're overestimating your abilities, my dear."
-Rumble!
Dark gray clouds sporadically formed in the sky.
The power that had been accumulating in Zesshi was gradually intensifying.
A mysterious force was gathering on her war scythe.
It radiated its energy as if it were on the verge of detonation.
"I've always been dignified and noble! But... you're the first to inflict such a deadly humiliation on me! Haha! This is my power! Take it!"
[Greater Wind Stride]
In an instant, Zesshi's image vanished.
[Greater Ability Boost]
[Greater Ability Sense]
She activated her martial arts, elevating her physical abilities to their peak. She moved with the speed of a flash of light.
[Greater Piercing]
[Flow Acceleration]
[Greater Reinforce Defense]
Another martial art was activated.
[Greater Slash Strike]
The space seemed to distort slowly; the ground around them scattered and shattered like tofu. A majestic light exploded in the midst of desperate despair.
A blow that seemed to cut through space descended upon Aurelius.
In response, he merely raised his sword and drew a beautiful parabolic arc, effortlessly blocking the devastating strike.
Boom!
A tremendous roar erupted from the colliding shockwave, and a thick fog dispersed.
The aftermath would have caught anyone nearby watching the battle and left them dead without a trace.
Yet, even that shockwave, despite Aurelius not defending against it directly, couldn't harm him.
"Physical damage nullification. It's one of my traits."
Amidst the thick dust fog, only the distinct echo of Aurelius's voice filled Zesshi's head. In that moment, her footsteps faltered.
It was only for a moment—a girl in black and white emerged from the thick fog.
"Haha!"
She laughed loudly. Her equipment, a legacy of the Six Great Gods, was breaking piece by piece, its durability in a devastating state.
On her left arm, blood stained and soaked the earth, and on her forehead, there was an open wound about three centimeters across. Blood smeared the corners of her mouth, giving her a dangerous appearance.
In stark contrast, Aurelius remained spotless, his gear untouched and unscratched. No matter how powerful her attacks were, Aurelius's transcendent physical defense and resistance rendered them ineffective.
Realizing this, Zesshi burst into a mad laugh. Aurelius tilted his head at her strange behavior, puzzled by her hearty laughter.
"What's so interesting? Did you give up?"
"No. It's not like that. I'm just so happy. You hurt me so much and stopped the strongest martial arts technique I could muster! Right now, I'm ecstatic! I don't know how to contain this joy!"
Blood continued to soak the earth as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and raised the War Scythe again. Despite feeling the limits of her power, Zesshi wanted to continue fighting—to fight to the death.
She wanted to keep battling and defeat the God of Calamity standing before her. Abandoning her mission, even for this moment, she showed her fighting spirit as a full-fledged warrior.
"Come on! Please entertain me some more!" she shouted.
"Does that mean you're going to try again?"
"Yeah! I know I won't win! But! But... There's no way I'll stop having fun like this!"
Power surged in Zesshi's eyes, and her energy and demeanor shifted dramatically from the previous drowsy atmosphere to one of fierce determination.
'Is she finally going to use her Trump card?'
As if responding to Aurelius's thoughts, Zesshi spun her War Scythe twice, and a clock materialized behind her, its hands indicating 12:00.
"This is my final trump card. If you can take this, I will be yours! You can do what you want!" Zesshi declared with full confidence, though internally, she lacked the same conviction in this ultimate move.
This trump card, which came from one of the Six Great Gods—the God of Death—was considered an absolute death sentence, yet even the Six Great Gods feared Aurelius, so Zesshi doubted its effectiveness against him.
"Is this—The Goal Of All Life Is Death?"
"…"
As expected, Aurelius was already aware of it.
Since there was no meaning to hiding or lying, Zesshi nodded.
"Right."
Given his casual demeanor, she already anticipated the outcome. Nevertheless, Zesshi drew out the magical power contained within her scythe.
The clock began to tick.
Zesshi wanted to see how Aurelius would defend against this attack without killing her, as, according to her understanding, the only way to stop this skill was to kill her within the 12 seconds the magic took to activate.
Despite her thoughts, though, Aurelius remained unmoved, watching as time passed under Zesshi's bewildered gaze.
Tick.
The clock face behind Zesshi ticked, and after twelve seconds had passed, the hour hand completed a full circuit and pointed to the heavens once more.
Zesshi's trump card took effect.
In that moment, the world died.
This was not metaphorical.
Everything with or without a concept of life died instantly; even corpses on the ground and some summoned dragons that accidentally entered the field shared the same fate, unable to resist the destruction that overtook them.
That was not all.
Even the air, which was not even alive to begin with, fell into death.
For over one hundred meters in all directions, the air was no longer breathable. If any living creature tried to respire within that area, their lungs would be corrupted by the deadly air, and they would die.
Neither did the land escape the embrace of death. Within a hundred-meter radius, the terrain instantly transformed into sand.
Only Zesshi and Aurelius could move in this world, where only death remained.
Witnessing Aurelius still alive and smiling without a scratch, Zesshi's mind went blank for a moment.
Even though she knew her technique wouldn't affect him, seeing her trump card—a skill she had absolute confidence in—fail so miserably left her unable to comprehend what was true and what was not.
Unfortunately, Aurelius decided to end the farce before she had a chance to process this shock.
"Let's finish it now with some magic."
Immediately after, his sword vanished from his hand as he cast a spell.
[10th Tier Magic: Darkness Annihilation]
A corrosive black ray of light, seemingly engulfing space, descended from the sky and struck Zesshi's body.
-Quaaaaa!!
When the beam crossed the land, Zesshi fell powerlessly into a huge crater, spitting up blood.
'Is this defeat?'
Her mind was on the verge of unconsciousness, and she couldn't help but think so.
'It was a pretty good experience.'
She smiled as she closed her eyes, feeling a strange satisfaction. The feeling of death enveloped her at that moment.
But that feeling lasted only for a moment—
'Huh?'
Something solid wrapped around her body, hugging her and pulling her out of the huge crater.
With half-open eyes, Zesshi looked at the handsome man with whitish-gray hair flying in the wind, holding her.
"Who said you could die? You are mine from now on. Do I need to teach you not to die recklessly?"
"... Maybe?"
Saying that in a broken voice, Zesshi closed her eyes again, a happy smile curling her lips.
For some reason, she felt comforted by his gentle touch.
It was the first feeling of relief she had ever experienced in her life.
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