Part of Ugkas’ confidence also came from the fact that Sipakna was already beginning to recover.
Glug glug…
Dozens of his tentacles had already regenerated, and the rest were rapidly recovering.
This was natural.
After all, Sipakna’s regenerative abilities were by far the best among all the Dukes. Even Ugkas wasn’t sure how severe an injury would have to be to kill it.
Kran stared at Ugkas for a moment before speaking in an angry voice.
“If I was your target, then you should have come to me directly instead of your childish rampage.”
“In the end, I was still able to kill two birds with one stone. I killed a lot of humans and found you.”
“It seems like that disgusting mindset will never change.”
After saying that, Kran drew his sword and Sedi tightened her grip on her staff.
Seeing this, Kran turned to her and spoke.
“In your current state, you’ll only get in the way. So you should run.”
Naturally, Sedi would never let such words slide.
With a vehement glare, she snapped back at him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. With your skills, it would be impossible to take the two of them on on your own.”
“You’re really good at talking despite being near death.”
This was their first meeting, and yet, even though they’d only met each other a few minutes before, their relationship was already strained.
If her condition had been better, Sedi would have definitely dealt with this arrogant human first.
But after she had this though, Sedi sighed.
“That hunk of metal is tough. If you don’t use a lot of strength, your sword won’t even be able to scratch him. He has a lot of fighting experience, and he knows how to remain calm. I don’t know what kind of losers you’ve dealt with so far, but you’d better not treat that guy like a normal Demon.”
“…”
This time, Kran listened to her without retorting. Although her words were still rough, he could tell that she was giving him advice about the upcoming fight.
“The slug is an insidious bastard. Keep your eyes peeled because it will constantly target your openings with its tentacles. You should also be mindful of the fluid that they spit out. It’s extremely corrosive. On top of that, the tentacles regenerate extremely quickly.”
Kran seemed to think about something for a moment before finally opening his mouth.
“You still haven’t mentioned the most important thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Your current condition.”
“…”
Sedi frowned. That left a bad taste in her mouth.
“It’s bad, but I’m not yet at a stage where you’d have to worry.”
“I’ll pretend to believe your bluff.”
“Just focus on yourself.”
At that moment, the temporary ceasefire, which hadn’t lasted that long, finally came to an end.
Sipakna had finished regenerating. As soon as Ugkas realised this, he immediately charged forward and Kran and Sedi took up their stances.
Kran at the front and Sedi at the back.
Clang!
“…!”
Ugkas was shocked for a moment.
His charge, which wouldn’t stop even after he’d destroyed dozens of giant buildings, had been blocked.
This was the second time he’d felt this way. It felt like he’d been blocked by a wall so strong that the word ‘firm’ was an understatement.
“…you weren’t lying. If I had tried to conserve my strength, I’d have been ripped apart.”
Gold light glimmered within Kran’s eyes. His skin became black, and fangs protruded from his lips. Horns also began growing from his forehead.
This was Kran’s true appearance. That of a hybrid.
The moment he realised Ugkas was about to charge, he completed his transformation.
Concentrating his strength to the tips of his toes, Kran tried to push Ugkas back, but it was by no means easy.
Instead, it was his body that was slowly being pushed backward.
‘He can still push me back when I’m in this form?’
Just as Kran clenched his jaws and tensed his muscles…
Squelch-
Dozens of tentacles shot towards him.
But before these tentacles could hit Kran’s defenseless body, Sedi stepped in.
Crack crack crack!
The staff in her hand seemed to bend and wave, but it was simply moving so fast that it had created such an illusion. Sedi destroyed the dozens of tentacles launched by the duke as though they were merely stalks of seaweed.
This sight startled Kran for a moment, but he was able to quickly regain his focus and concentrate the strength of his body once more.
“…hup!”
Then, Ugkas’ massive body was pushed away. No, to be precise, it was Ugkas himself who had widened the distance.
It was possible that the last charge was simply to gauge Kran’s strength.
The first stalemate of the battle had been reached. Looking away from their enemies for a moment, Sedi and Kran exchanged glances.
It was Sedi who laughed first.
“How are you feeling, brat? That little exchange didn’t scare you, did it?”
“Are you speaking from experience?”
Kran retorted coldly before looking away.
At first glance, it seemed that they were just as obnoxious as before, but inwardly.
‘…if it’s this guy’
‘…I guess I can rely on her.’
They were both thinking the same thing at the same time.
* * *
Within the black sky and clouds, where there wasn’t even the slightest hint of light, it felt as though he was wandering in a dark abyss.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t difficult for him to find his target.
Not because of the intense demonic energy that billowed from his body.
But because of the devilish energy that he could sense.
Lukas was looking at his back. But he was looking down.
He wasn’t sure what he was looking at.
Nevertheless, he suppressed his curiosity and struggled for a bit before finally opening his mouth.
“The Warrior King Fist has changed a lot from what I remember.”
After saying those words, Lukas suddenly had the urge to burst into laughter.
In the past, while he was floating in the Abyss with only the darkness to keep him company, he had dreamed of reuniting with his closest friends.
He knew that his chances of meeting them were extremely slim. After all, he’d spent a ridiculously long time there. But there was no one there who could judge him for his delusions.
The possibility was next to impossible. Nevertheless, he continued to fantasise about what he would do if he was able to meet them again.
Truthfully, he could no longer remember the conclusion of those thoughts. It had been far too long ago.
…Nevertheless, there was one thing of which he could be certain.
At the very least, the things he was about to say next would never have been in that conclusion.
“I’m not talking about the power. Instead, it has become a martial art that can no longer be called the Warrior King Fist. Because the basis has been twisted.”
Lukas held back his sigh.
He had already made up his mind, so he wasn’t about to back down now.
The being currently standing in front of him was an enemy.
“In the past, you created the Warrior King Fist to kill Demigods. It was the martial art of the weak, the martial art created to allow humans to fight against absurdly powerful beings… But what about that attack?”
Lukas’ voice slowly became filled with anger.
“An attack that reaches its target even from a vast distance and shows no regard for the hundreds or thousands of innocents that might be caught in its path. Such an attack could only have been created for mass destruction. When did the Warrior King Fist become the art of killing, Kasajin?”
[A long time ago.]
For the first time, the Demon King, Kasajin, responded.
“…hundreds of people died in your attack just now.”
[Right.]
“You must have killed even more humans than that.”
[That’s right.]
He simply nodded his head.
Lukas couldn’t help but sigh.
“So the reason we risked our lives in the past was only worth that much.”
Fwoosh-
Mana began to billow around Lukas’ body, and blue light flashed in his eyes.
“There is one last thing I want to ask you.”
[Say it.]
“…if I asked you what happened, would you tell me?”
[…]
At those words, Kasajin closed his eyes for a moment.
His expression remained the same, so Lukas had no idea what he was thinking.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
[No.]
“…”
Those were the last words.
The Magic Warrior King, Kasajin.
The Great Mage, Lukas.
Two heroes from another world who had stood shoulder to shoulder in the past and fought countless battles together.
So began the fight that only one of them would survive.
(TL: I don’t know if I should feel sad or excited…)