Uriel's body stiffened. This was far from something he expected. He himself could only control Shinsu with relative ease, only because he had some experience in controlling Spiritual Energy. Even though Spiritual Energy and Shinsu were different energies, he could still use his insights in controlling the Shinsu.
However...
'This guy is managing to control Shinsu so easily?'
He assessed Urek carefully. Not that he didn't expect that Urek couldn't use Shinsu's Control; after all, he was Urek Mazino. But, to control Shinsu to the point of reinforcing his body with it... that was not in his expectations.
No. Uriel shook his head. It wasn't time to think about that. He needed to concentrate on the red-eyed beast that stared at him with an amused expression.
'This is going to be much more complicated than I first thought. So—'
Chiiiiiii!
A strange squeak sounded. The veins in his arm swelled and bulged. His fingers clenched hard on the hilt of the sword.
'I'll need to overdo it a bit again. This time, I might not be able to move afterward...'
He forcibly accelerated every cell in his body. His blood was boiling and coursing through his body at an amazing speed. Shinsu spun around and a white energy covered his arms. He stepped forward and looked fiercely at Urek who was about 150 meters away.
"Hehe, attack." Urek crossed his arms with a big smile on his face and stood still. He stared at Uriel, with no sign of defending himself from the attack.
Uriel blinked in surprise.
'As expected from Urek Mazino, I guess...?'
At the same time, he raised his arm upwards.
Then—
'Spectral images?' Urek raised an eyebrow.
Uriel seemed to have multiplied and several hundred Uriel appeared forming a circle with Urek in the center. Each spectral image was holding a sword and they were looking at Urek fiercely. White Shinsu spread across their swords.
"Uriel Style - Devil Sword - Incomplete Version..."
Flash!
White Shinsu soared into the sky. The ground beneath each Uriel began to crack. Uriel closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, his pupil was covered in a silvery color.
Kuuuuooooo!
His sword roared as it shook violently and the White Shinsu curled into it.
Uriel's hand holding the sword began to slowly descend. Following his movements, the spectral images did the same. Hundreds of Uriel struck out with the sword at the same time.
"...Devil Massacre!"
Chwaaaak!!!
The world seemed to shake. Hundreds of White Shinsu blasts covered the sky.
The White Shinsu blasts advanced frantically, like fierce dragons, towards Urek. Urek looked at the white explosions with a smile and with his arms still crossed. His eyes showed not a single trace of fear as the white covered his vision.
Fuwoooosh!!!
Pepepepeng!!!
The hundreds of slashing Shinsu blasts engulfed he.
"Bleeeergh..." Uriel vomited blood on the ground. His skin was deathly pale and blood was coming out of all his seven orifices. Some of his veins had burst and, the energy in his body seemed to have been completely sucked out.
'Damn...! That was really too much... If I overdo it anymore, I'm going to die...'
His vision was blurred and an incessant pain covered his body. If he were a normal person, he would have already fainted from this absurd pain. He raised his head slightly and looked at the hundreds of White Shinsu blasts covering Urek anxiously.
'He could end up dying from that...?'
However...
As soon as this idea came to his mind, his eyes widened at the absurd sight in front of him.
"Indeed, that is impressive. Just as I thought, you are very strong. However..."
Urek Mazino's voice sounded out of Shinsu's blasts. With a confident smile on his face, his arm moved slowly, he clenched his fist, and with a Blue Shinsu covering his hand...
"I am the strongest."
He threw a punch.
Booooom!!!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The place shook and shuddered, and the White Shinsu blasts were shattered and crumpled like paper. The once White Shinsu that covered the sky was dispersed in a single instant.
'That...' Uriel watched in disbelief, before giving a derisive laugh and shaking his head helplessly.
Woosh!
The wind in front of him stirred and the shadow of a fist entered his vision.
BANG!!!!
He momentarily lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness again, he felt an intense burning in his face and saw his body flying several hundred meters.
'Don't tell me that...?' As his body flew away, a ridiculous thought came to his mind.
Crack!
His body hit a small hill hard and he looked up at the red-eyed beast that was staring at him with a confident smile on its face.
'It's not that he can control Shinsu easily. It's that he controls Shinsu by pure instinct. This guy...'
Uriel squinted his eyes.
'He was limiting his strength in the initial confrontation.'
Uriel had understood. The instant Urek stopped limiting his strength, his own instinct controlled Shinsu. In other words, it was not that he started using Shinsu that increased his strength astronomically; rather, from the beginning, he had not used his full strength. At least eighty percent of the previous attack contained only his physical strength. Shinsu only increased his strength a little. But...
'That's not important now.'
The important thing now was how to stop that red-eyed beast that was approaching with its arms covered in a Blue Shinsu. Uriel could barely move, and his once extremely beautiful face was deformed and covered in blood.
'Will I need to use that?' He frowned slightly.
'No... If I need external force only on the second floor, let alone the upper ones... But, if I overdo it some more, I might end up dying...'
Dying? Hehehe, a self-ridiculous smile appeared on Urek's face.
"Pihehe... Hahahahahaha!!" He laughed. His body was completely sore and covered with his own blood, but he didn't seem to mind that. He shook his head and looked at Urek who was approaching quickly. "Fuck this shit. Boundaries? I've already exceeded them, what does it matter if I go further!"
Death? Bah, that's a small thing.
Kuwww!
He opened his palm and Shinsu concentrated on it. Shinsu began to take the form of a small white ball, and soon after....
Crackle! Crackle!
The crackle of burning flames sounded. A small, exquisite lotus appeared in Uriel's palm. Flame Lotus!
"Oh? You're finally going to use that." Urek stopped his steps and looked excitedly at Uriel. He had a big excited smile on his face. He was genuinely interested in this little lotus that burned the eels in the 1st Floor test site in an instant.
With his eyes shining with a slight madness, Uriel used all his strength to raise the arm holding the Flame Lotus. He slowly opened his mouth and brought the Flame Lotus closer.
Suddenly, just as he was about to devour the Flame Lotus...
Bzzzzzz-
"Do you hear me?! Ah! Ah! My heartiest congratulations to all the surviving Regulars! You passed the first test! Well, well, now I will announce the second test! It's quite simple... You only need to form a team of three people! You only have five minutes!"
"?" Urek raised his head slightly and looked up at the sky.
"Is it over already?"
"I think so," Uriel replied with a strange smile on his face. His hand holding the Flame Lotus trembled slightly. Who knew that just as he was about to use a technique the test would be over? A strange sigh came out of his mouth, containing several different feelings and emotions. That was quite a break from expectation.
"Tsk, tsk. This sucks, has it been 30 minutes already?"
Urek cursed angrily. A moment later, his gaze turned to Uriel leaning against the small broken hill.
"Anyway... At this moment I really want very much to fight you, however, I also don't want to waste my time."
'Waste your time?" Uriel gave a forced smile, as he dispersed the Flame Lotus in his hand. "So, what do you think about forming a team with me? As you have seen, I have a companion. Together, we make three people."
"Not a bad idea..."
Urek smiled slightly.
"Very well. Then we'll form a team!"
With one step, he shortened the distance between him and Uriel instantly. He smiled and stretched his arm out to the fallen Uriel.
"Okay, so starting today, we'll be a team."
With his body all sore, Uriel reached out and shook Urek's hand with a smile on his face. The sun's rays hit both of their faces, however...
Uriel's face was still mortally deformed.